Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
GRANT NEWS - OKLAHOMA HIGHER ED October 2009
Dear Faculty and Administrators,
     Happy Halloween! This newsletter will provide stories about grants received by your colleagues across the State, proving that grantsmanship is not "spell casting."  Grants are obtained by ordinary people (not witches!) to enhance Oklahoma college and university campuses and programs. We congratulate those whose enthusiasm and hard work (not spells) have resulted in research funds, program development, and better student programs. During the year 2008-09, faculty members obtained $618,000,000 in federal grants for their institutions. When we consider that every dollar put into Oklahoma higher education results in an impact on the economy of $5.15, this indicates that those grants have had an impact of more than $3 billion extra on the local economies of the campuses. Thank you for your impact on our state!
We hope you enjoy this monthly grants newsletter. If you have grant information to share, please send it and a jpeg photo to [email protected].  

                                    

Mason Witch
                                 
                                   Sincerely,
                                       Dr. Linda Mason
                    Coordinator for Grant Writing Assistance

In This Issue
Connors Gets $1.9 Million
Cameron University
Northeastern Oklahoma State University
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
13th Annual Oklahoma Research Day
GEAR UP Grant
OC Tree Grant
OCU Nursing Grant
OU Exxon Mobil Grant
SWOSU Upward Bound Grant
OSU Motorcycle Research
OUHSC $9 million in Stimulus Funding
NSU Grants
NSU's Kathi Schoonover Wins NCURA Travel Award
OneNet Grant
OUHSC Nursing Grant
Mentoring
OUHSC Child Trauma Grant
Oklahoma Consortium Cyber-Security Grant
Brad Henry International Scholars
Kaiser Foundation Funds TU
Connors Gets $1.9 Million for Employment and Training
Connors Training Group

 
Pictured from left to right, Dr. JoLynn Digranes, Executive V-P; Patty Garner, Workforce Director; Connors President. Donnie Nero; Jessie Young, Project Director; and Becky Reynolds, Administrative Assistant 

Connors State College received $1.9 million to provide educational, training and support services for the Eastern Workforce Investment Board. The seven counties served by EWIB are Adair, Cherokee, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Sequoyah and Wagoner. CSC President Donnie Nero said part of the grant comes from stimulus money and part comes from federal Workforce grant funds. He said the grant will help Connors coordinate its employment assistance programs. The Director will be Jessie Young, who was previously the Director of  Student Support Services grant. Patty Garner, Director of Workforce Oklahoma's Muskogee office, said Connors will help the Workforce office help clients find employment and training. People wanting assistance may call the Muskogee Workforce offices at 721 S. 32nd St. Information: 682-3364.
Get to Know the New Administrators: New Academic Research Director at CU
CU-Wohlers
Dr. Tony Wohlers is the Academic Research Director and Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Government at Cameron University. Wohlers earned his doctorate in Political Science from the Northern Illinois University in 2004 and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 2000. In addition, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude with Distinction in Political Science from Sonoma State University in 1998 and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and History from the University of the Saarland, Germany in 1996. He has been active in teaching, research, and grant writing and has been serving as the Academic Researhc Director since the 2009 Spring semester.
Get to Know the New Administrators: New Director of Sponsored Programs at NSU
NSU Schoonover
Kathryn Schoonover is the Director of Research and Sponsored Programs at Northeastern State University, having held this position since March 2009.  Previously, Schoonover was the R.O.S.S. Grant Coordinator for Muskogee Housing Authority and Education Specialist for Tulsa Community College's Nursing and Allied Health Programs. In these positions, she wrote numerous proposals which received funding, with one winning state recognition through Blue Cross and Blue Shield.  She was a student of the 2007 OSRHE Grant Writing Institute and highly recommends it for anyone who is interested in pursuing grant funding.
Get to Know the New Administrators: New Grant Writer/Coordinator at SOSU
SOSU Paul Buntz
Paul Buntz is the Grant Coordinator/Writer for Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He received his BA and MPA, University of Oklahoma. Buntz spent 32 years in city government in Oklahoma, most recently city manager of Durant for 22 years. He has extensive experience in grants, both with government and foundations. Buntz served two separate terms as President of the City Management Association of Oklahoma, and two terms on the Oklahoma Municipal League Board, and President of the Southern Oklahoma Development Association. He worked as a consultant for two years following his retirement as Durant City Manager. Paul says he is excited about new position that he began in April, 2009. His wife Pam is an elementary school teacher in Durant; they have two sons and one grandson.
11th Annual Oklahoma Research Day
Ok Research Day

November 13, at the Broken Arrow NSU campus is the site of the 11th annual Oklahoma Research Day. Over 1100 students are registered to share their research posters with others all over Oklahoma, other states, and even other countries. This will be the largest Oklahoma Research Day to date. Many projects are funded by grants for undergraduate student research. For more information, see http://researchday.nsuok.edu/.
GEAR UP RECEIVES PLANNING GRANT
OSRHE Pena
Armando Pe�a, Assistant Vice Chancellor for GEAR UP and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education received $24,000 from the  RTI, the U.S. Department of Education funding for a GEAR UP Evaluation Planning Awards to create a fully crafted proposal and conduct a study of intervention services that prepares a cohort of GEAR UP students in Oklahoma high schools to enter college without the need for remedial coursework in college. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally-funded program designed to better prepare middle and high school students for postsecondary education through academic preparation programs, professional development activities for educators, and college access information for students and parents.  Armando Pe�a has been with GEAR UP since its inception in 1999. 
OC Receives Tree Grant
OC logo
Oklahoma Christian University received a donation of 1,300 trees from a partnership between the Tree Bank Foundation and the Apache Foundation. Most of the donated trees will line the planned walking trails encompassing the campus and connect with Edmond trails. The trees will be of five varieties. Students, faculty and staff will take   part in unloading and planting the trees. Pendelton Woods, Director of the American Citizenship Center at Oklahoma Christian, played an integral part in securing the donation for the university. Woods has served as a member of the Tree Bank Board for the past 15 years.
  
The Tree Bank Foundation has donated tens of thousands of trees and averages between 70 and 90 new projects each year, tree bank records indicate. The Apache Foundation, the charitable arm of the Apache Corp. based in Houston, has planted more than 1 million trees in 14 states since 2006, the foundation reports.
OCU Nursing Grant Expansion
OCU Kramer Sch Nursing
Beginning in 2011, Oklahoma City University students will have a new three-story building to study nursing. The Kramer School of Nursing expansion project will begin in October. A 50,000-square-foot facility will be constructed next to the existing 16,000-square-foot building. The addition will allow space for 10 classrooms, six seminar rooms, three laboratories, lounges, research area and office space., university spokesman Rod Jones said. Built in 1994, the existing facility accommodates 100 students. However, college officials expect 325 students to be enrolled in the program during the spring semester. When the building expansion is complete in January 2011, all nursing classes will be in the new facility, Williamson said. The $8.5 million project is funded through individual donations and grants from Inasmuch Foundation and SSM Health Care of Oklahoma.
OU Receives Exxon Mobil Grant
OU Logo
The University of Oklahoma received $54,800 from Exxon Mobil Corp. in support of academic areas in the Michael F. Price College of Business, Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy and the College of Engineering, as well as support for OU's Career Services.  The ExxonMobil grants allow selected academic departments to allocate funds for scholarships, field trips, visiting speakers, equipment purchases and student and faculty travel to academic-related activities. The grants were awarded to schools that offer degrees in subjects from which ExxonMobil recruits employees
SWOSU Upward Bound Grant

Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the Upward Bound program on the Weatherford campus received a continuation grant of $378,592 from the U.S. Department of Education. The award provides services for 76 students from eight western Oklahoma high schools to participate cost-free in an Upward Bound. Upward Bound is a program that includes monthly meetings and on-line tutoring during the school year and academic, social and cultural activities through the summer for college bound 9th, 10th and 11th graders. Upward Bound is geared towards students from low-income families and first-generation college students (those whose parents did not graduate from college). 
OSU Motorcycle Crashes Research Grant
Campus Compact MLK Day
Figures from the Federal Highway Administration show that nearly 5,300 motorcycle riders died in traffic crashes in 2008, accounting for 14 percent of all traffic deaths. An additional 96,000 riders were injured. Motorcycle riders remain one of the highest-risk groups on the nation's roads despite years of steady improvements in highway safety and historic lows in traffic deaths, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Figures from the agency show that nearly 5,300 motorcycle riders died in traffic crashes in 2008, accounting for 14 percent of all traffic deaths. An additional 96,000 riders were injured.
 
OSU will lead research for an important study which should provide significant, scientifically valid results to prevent motorcycle accidents and save lives. The four-year study will be funded with $2.5 million from the federal government.  Various states have pledged about $500,000 for the study, and a spokesman for the American Motorcyclist Association, said members have committed more than $125,000.
OUHSC Receives $9 million Stimulus Research Funds
Campus Compact MLK Day
Scientists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have received more than $9 million in research grants as part of the federal recovery program.  The stimulus grants are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which is providing $8.2 billion to the National Institutes of Health to help stimulate the U.S. economy through the support and advancement of scientific research. Projects include the following:

James F. McGinnis is developing a way to use nanoparticles to fix natural defenses in the eye that have become defective. He hopes to prevent blindness from conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal degeneration.
 
Eleni Tolma is looking at adolescent boys and girls in Oklahoma City for four years to find out what factors - from mentors to the condition of neighborhoods - have the most effect on their behavior.
 
Helene Carabin is identifying the processes that occur when people who are infected with HIV interact with parasites that both humans and animals can carry.
 
Frank Waxman and Darrin Akins will expand their science outreach program from Tulsa-area high schools to rural schools with a high number of underrepresented minorities, especially large numbers of American Indian students. The program will work with Tulsa Community College to purchase molecular biology kits, disposable laboratory supplies and other materials.
NSU Receives McAlester Scottish Rite Grant
NSU Scottish Rite
Dr. Karen Patterson and Northeastern Oklahoma State University received  $24,900 from the McAlester Scottish Rite to provide speech and language screening, diagnostic and intervention services along with clinical supervision at the Northeastern State University-Muskogee campus for the Fall 2009, Spring 2010, and Summer 2010 semesters.  A total of 16 client evaluations will be conducted each semester. This is the third year for this award.
NSU STEP Grant
NSU McDowell
Dr. Kathi McDowell and Northeastern Oklahoma State University received $62,750 from the National Science Foundation through University of Central Oklahoma to increase the number of students pursuing and receiving Associate or Baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  The program will initiate proven strategies to encourage a connection among the students, the disciplines, and the faculty and promote critical thinking within the disciplines.
NSU Conference Grant
NSU Jenlink

Dr. Christee Jenlink and Northeastern State University received $7,000 from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to support the Celebration of Teaching Conference to be held in Spring 2010. The conference will focus on university students in the teacher education program and minority students from public school systems in northeastern Oklahoma.
NSU Receives FEA Recruitment Grant

Dr. Christee Jenlink and Northeastern Oklahoma State University received $10,000 from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to support programs which help recruit and retain teachers in Oklahoma.This project includes connecting members of Future Educators Associations in the Tulsa area with teacher education candidates who are members of the Student Oklahoma Education Association in the NSU College of Education.  This "student to student" relationship will introduce, encourage, assist and sustain all students involved. The programs will benefit future educators who have the desire and ability to become teacher leaders serving underrepresented populations.
NSU Receives College Connection Grant

Dr. Christee Jenlink and Northeastern Oklahoma State University received $2,120 from the Oklahoma State Regents to create the "College Connection" between the Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) program at Union High School and teacher education candidates and faculty in the NSU College of Education.  The partnership between Union High School and the College of Education will provide another venue for the ACE curriculum and activities, which will introduce students to the many facets of teacher education and the teaching profession.
 
NSU Receives AISES Student Grant
Campus Compact MLK Day
Dr. Phyllis Fife and Northeastern Oklahoma State University received $14,784 from the National Science Foundation through EPSCoR to assist with airfare and hotel fees for students to attend the American Indian Science & Engineering Society National Conference in late October 2009. The conference provided positive experiences for Native American students to successfully bridge science and technology with traditional Native American values. Students who attended the conference become more prepared for their roles in general society.  They learned to become more self reliant in leadership roles and were introduced to key professionals in their field.
NSU Receives Cherokee Degree Grant
NSU Kirk

Wyman Kirk
and Northeastern Oklahoma State University received $100,000 for the Cherokee Language Degree Program from the Cherokee Nation. The funds support an undergraduate program that produces teachers who are fluent in speaking, reading, and writing in the Cherokee Language. Culture and heritage will also be a part of the Bachelor of Arts in Cherokee Education degree.  This is year five for this award.
NCURA Travel Award to NSU's Kathryn Schoonover
NSU Kathi Schoonover
The winner of the Region V (Oklahoma and Texas) National travel award from NCURA (National Council of University Research Administrators) goes to Kathryn Schoonover, Director of Research and Sponsored Programs at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. Kathi has been in this position since March 2009. She was a mentor at the OSRHE Summer Grant Writing Institute for 2009. The National meeting this year is October 21-24 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Congratulations to Kathi!
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OneNet Receives USDA Rural Utilities Service Grant
James Deaton
James Deaton, OneNet Director of Technology and OSRHE OneNet received $265,667 from the U S Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program for enhancement of Oklahoma multiple site connectivity of OneNet sites. The proposal was selected from a pool of 191 that competed nationally. Congratulations to OneNet and the state system for the convenience of enhanced multiple site connectivity!
OUHSC College of Nursing receives grant

Campus Compact MLK Day
The American Cancer Society and the National Palliative Care Research Center have awarded a research grant to researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center for studies aimed at reducing suffering for seriously ill patients and their family caregivers. The studies will be conducted over the next two years. 
Marianne Matzo, a professor and the Frances E. and A. Earl Ziegler chair in palliative care nursing at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Nursing in Oklahoma City, will focus on developing and pilot-testing a coached communication intervention for sexual health promotion in women with recurring ovarian cancer.   
Is Mentoring Right for You?
Mentors
You can be the change you want to see in the world. What better way to accomplish this, than by choosing to mentor others. Mentoring as an integral part of leadership can be particularly effective in achieving change and growth. Try mentoring grant writing:
__Do you have a desire to share your experience and knowledge with others?
__What are some of your goals for mentoring?
__What are your strengths?
__What type of relationship do you want? Informal, formal, short term, long term?
__What expertise can you offer?
__Do you have the resources to mentor?
__How much time can you realistically commit: Weekly, biweekly, monthly?
__How are you going to meet: Face-to-face, emails, phone calls, videoconference?
 
Find out more about building an effective mentoring relationship with new grant writers. Let me know, [email protected]. Let's see if we can pair you with someone in need and get their needs met.
 
OUHSC gets US Department of Health and Human Services Grant
OUHSC Logo
The National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative Treatment and Services Adaptation Center at the OU Health Sciences Center received $600,000 to develop interventions for traumatic events, including specialized treatment for victims. The grant was awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Oklahoma Consortium Cyber-Security Grant

Members of the Oklahoma-based Cyber Security Education Consortium received $2.7 million from the National Science Foundation to help reverse the outsourcing of high-tech jobs to other countries. The project will grow cyber security and cyber forensics programs at 32 institutions in eight states. The consortium was started in Oklahoma in 2002 and includes programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.  In Oklahoma, degrees and certificates in cyber security are offered at eight Career Tech campuses, the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma City Community College, Rose State College and the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. The education consortium aims to train 2,500 students and 3,000 existing workers with advanced skills in cyber security.
Regents Send Brad Henry International Scholars to Wales
Swansea Scholars
Five students from Oklahoma's regional universities have been designated Brad Henry International Scholars and are spending the fall semester participating in an international study and internship program at Swansea University in Wales. Susannah Awopeju, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford; Brandon Jackiewicz, Cameron University, Lawton; Carolyn Jones, Langston University, Langston; Elaina Ross, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah; and Kasey Zibton, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Alva, were chosen by their institutions for the international study program, which was established by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in June 2008. The State Regents provide a $10,000 stipend for students selected to participate in semester-long study or research programs affiliated with Swansea University. Academic credit for these programs will be awarded by Oklahoma regional universities.
Kaiser Funds TU Energy Law Endowed Chair and Performance Center

The George Kaiser Family Foundation is creating an endowed chair at the University of Tulsa College of Law in the name of the foundation's president and longtime attorney, officials announced Tuesday. The chair in energy law will be named after Frederic Dorwart, who has practiced law since 1966. The foundation's gift to begin the endowment is $2.5 million. TU will conduct a nationwide search to fill the position, which will focus on sustainable energy sources and emerging trends in the energy sector. In May, the Kaiser Foundation donated nearly $40 million to TU.  The will help TU begin construction on the Roxana Rozsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performance Center. It also included money for the Energy Policy Institute and a student volunteer center.