Dean: Increase in grants aids whole area

This is the first time grant writers received university recognition awards.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A nearly eight-fold increase in grants at Youngstown State University over the past decade will not only help academics, it will help the community and the area's economic revitalization, the dean of Graduate Studies said Wednesday.
"If we're going to be able to help our community, in economic development especially, research is important," Dean Peter Kasvinsky said.
External research funding granted to the university has climbed to about $4.37 million in 2002. In 1992, the amount received was about $560,000.
Grants jumped 17 percent in the past year, from about $3.74 million in 2001.
How grants are used
Kasvinsky said such grants fund research, provide needed equipment, supplement the university budget, and help fund partnerships with community groups and school districts.
While YSU may not have the same research focus as Ohio State University or Case Western Reserve University, writing research grants is still an important component of the role of faculty at the institution.
"There's really been a tremendous change, a huge cultural change, on the campus, which, I think, is for the better," Kasvinsky said.
Kasvinsky held a luncheon Wednesday to honor grant writers. It is the first time awards have been given by the dean to grant writers.
Receiving awards for "Superior Success in Obtaining External Funding" were Dr. James J. Carroll of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Dr. Allen D. Hunter of the Department of Chemistry.
Carroll has received research funding from the Department of Defense, Sandia Laboratories and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Hunter has received funding from the American Chemical Society and the National Science Foundation for research and equipment.
The chemistry department as a whole won its own award. Kasvinsky said the department has brought in more than $999,000.
Receiving awards for "Perseverance in Application for External Funding" were Dr. Kriss Schueller of the Department of Computer Science & amp; Information Systems, and Dr. Tod S. Porter, Dr. Teresa M. Riley, Dr. Rochelle Ruffer and Dr. Ebenge Usip, all of the Department of Economics. The group received a grant from the National Science Foundation for an economics teaching program that uses the Internet.
Some grant seekers re-write applications as many as three times, said Ed Orona, director of grants and sponsored programs at the university.
How many
Across campus, 89 grant proposals were funded in 2002. Orona said funds are earmarked for academic programs, research projects or community service programs.
University officials have highlighted a few that will help YSU reach out into the community:
* A $333,000 grant from the Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. The grant will run through 2004 to provide a graduate-level chemistry program for local high-school chemistry teachers.
* The U.S. Department of Education has awarded an $834,000 Teaching American History Grant. Running through 2005, the money will be used to improve history instruction for 38,000 elementary and middle school pupils across the region.
* A three-year $397,500 National Science Foundation grant will help YSU continue its Technology Leaders Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to academically talented, financially needy students who are studying computer science, engineering and math.