Research funding increases at school

External funding has grown eightfold since 1994-95.
& lt;a href=mailto:viviano@vindy.com & gt;By JoANNE VIVIANO & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The amount of funds received by Youngstown State University research projects has increased 35 percent over the past year.
While funding from outside sources was about $4.4 million in fiscal year 2002, it rose to about $5.9 million in 2003.
The number had jumped 17 percent between 2001 and 2002, from roughly $3.7 million.
"The faculty are developing and becoming more competitive," said Dr. Peter J. Kasvinsky, dean of Graduate Studies and Research at YSU. "This thing has been building for roughly a decade. So it's not unexpected that we're going to be continuing along this line and increasing."
A decade ago, the university received about $869,000 in external grant funding for research, according to fiscal year 1992 figures.
Established office
In 1994-95, the university established an Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs to support faculty applying for such research funds; since then funding has grown eightfold, Kasvinsky said.
Among future goals is to encourage faculty to focus on federal grants, which tend to offer more funds: In 2003, only 19 percent of award sources were federal, but they provided 36 percent of total funds.
Kasvinsky said another goal is to encourage local industry to turn to the university for assistance. One recent project included the completion of an equipment guide to offer area companies.
He pointed to the revival of Akron.
"The University of Akron has a focus on research and development and it has a direct payback in the economy and that is something we have to build here at Youngstown State University," he said. "And we have begun over the last decade. ... Those are the things that really are going to provide a technology magnet for industry to come to Youngstown."
Among YSU's departments, the College of Arts & amp; Sciences brought in the most grants in 2003, with $1.9 million, followed by the provost's office, at about $1.8 million, and the College of Health and Human Services, at $397,000.
The dean pointed out that the 2003 numbers are somewhat skewed by a single, $1.5 million Ohio Department of Job and Family Services award to the provost's office for the Mahoning Valley Education and Training Institute.
Besides funding from outside the university, the graduate school also awards various internal grants. Among them is money for faculty-developed Presidential Academic Centers for Excellence in Research.
In 2003, a center for studying children's and young adult literature received $16,000; a wine/wine production study center received $26,000 and a biotechnology center received $29,000.
The idea behind the PACER program is to encourage faculty collaboration among disciplines, develop an infrastructure for research and industry on campus and help faculty become more competitive when it comes to seeking outside awards, Kasvinsky said.
Also on campus, University Research Council Grants awarded $35,000 to 14 projects; and 51 awards, totaling $74,000, were given to faculty to support undergraduate and graduate research assistants. And a new program offers $500 grants to 20 students for undergraduate research, Kasvinsky said.
More available funds
Many of the funds for these internal awards come from the "indirect costs" that are built into some external awards. For example, Kasvinsky said, some awards might include costs of electricity, janitorial services, water or gas associated with the project. The university will pay those costs out of its operating budget, leaving the indirect costs funds for research.
Kasvinsky said they are placed in a specific research incentive fund and spent on YSU faculty projects.
"There are a lot of good things going on at YSU in research and scholarship," he said. "I think if students knew about some of the opportunities, they'd come here instead of going to Kent or Akron ... or Ohio State."