Troy University grant writers were recognized during the 34th annual Sponsored Programs Grant Writers Luncheon held in the Lamar P. Higgins Ballroom on the Troy Campus on Dec. 2.
In a year that was marked by budget cuts to many federal agencies, TROY faculty and staff secured around $30 million, a total indicative of the University’s entrepreneurial spirt, according to Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor.
“When I think back over the years, I look back with pride about what we, collectively, have been able to achieve,” Dr. Hawkins said. “That first year, back in 1991, we generated about $250,000 in grants and contracts. There were 33 writers at that time and a lot of small grants. This year we generated well more than $30 million. I’m so proud of each of our faculty and staff who have submitted grant proposals. It will be the private sector and our entrepreneurial spirit that will drive us from being a good institution to being a great institution.”
William Filmore, Vice Chancellor for Government Relations and External Affairs, said the luncheon provides an opportunity to recognize and thank faculty and staff for their grant writing efforts.
“This annual event allows the University to celebrate the hard work of our faculty and staff who help us find ways to enhance the TROY experience through research, partnerships, and additional external funding,” Filmore said. “We cannot say thank you enough to them for their efforts and we want to encourage more faculty and staff to participate in these activities in the future through our Office of Sponsored Programs.”
During the luncheon, awards were presented and Trojans Talk Research speakers Dr. Arun Ghosh, Dr. Hoa Dinh and Dr. Priya Menon were recognized.
The Chancellor’s Award for Academic Support, now in its second year, was awarded to Lynne George with the cooperation of Innovate Alabama for the “IDEA Bank Membership and Incubator Program.” The project provided for the renovation of IDEA Bank space to expand the capacity to serve community innovators and future business leaders. The addition included a state-of-the-art classroom and training space, private incubator offices, small makers space and collaborative workspaces.
The Chancellor’s Award for Grant Writing Excellence was awarded to Dr. Jeff Scott for his grant “Developing Civic Discourse through Founding Documents and Historically Connected Art of the United States,” a sub-award with Middle Tennessee State University from the Library of Congress. The project marked the first Lewis-Houghton Civics and Democracy Award given in the Southern Region. The project hosts 35 high school educators at TROY for a full day of learning, discussion, debate and collaboration around the country’s most important founding documents and artwork in an effort to support a better understanding of history, civics and democracy.
Two Chancellor’s Awards of Distinction were presented – one to Dr. Shaoyang Liu for the National Science Foundation grant on “Sensitive and Rapid Detection of Hazardous and Volatile Organic Compounds” and the other to Dr. Priya Menon for the Mellon Foundation grant on “(Re)reading Alabama’s Cultural Archives: Connecting Place and Multitudes.”
Dr. Liu’s project addresses the need for effective detection of hazardous volatile organic compounds in recycled plastics, offering benefits to society by promoting environmental sustainability, protecting public health and strengthening the plastic recycling industry.
Dr. Menon’s project provides opportunities for undergraduate students and faculty in TROY’s College of Arts and Humanities to engage in place-based study using cultural narratives of the African-American, Native American, and immigrant communities of Alabama that confront considerations of social justice to foster critical thinking, embrace diverse views and challenge dominant narratives while molding civic agents to shape public opinion.
Paula Carlson, Director of Sponsored Programs, said the luncheon provided an opportunity to celebrate the University’s grant-writing efforts.
“Each of you are important to the success of grants and research,” Carlson told those in attendance. “You’re the reason for our success these past years and the reason we will be successful in the coming year. We hope you will submit grants again, and we hope you will encourage a new colleague to join you in the effort in the coming year.”
