June

Change of location for OSRP

Office of Sponsored Research and Programs moves to Academic Affairs, continues to provide resources and support.

By Cory Phare

June 11, 2018

A key engine for advancing knowledge, the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs has a new home at Metropolitan State University of Denver in the Academic Affairs division.

The change comes as a result of a review the National Council of University Research Administrators conducted last fall. One of the key findings was that similar offices at other universities typically reside in Academic Affairs divisions.

“Both faculty and staff at MSU Denver write grants; they’re regularly bringing the latest and greatest in scholarly activities to our students,” said Provost Vicki Golich.

And with two new proposal-development specialist positions, OSRP is positioned to provide hands-on support from idea creation through the submission process, said Gwendolyn Mami, executive director of the office.

“With staff additions, we are more prepared than ever to work closely with (applicants) in all academic units to facilitate the pre-award process,” Mami said. “Additionally, the post-award coordinator’s role also facilitates the transition between pre-award activities and post-award services currently available through the Office of Accounting Services.” 

OSRP, which assists federal and state applications in public venues, has earned MSU Denver more than $111 million this past decade, an increase of $40 million-plus over the preceding time period.

“From High School Upward Bound to the work of Janelle Johnson, who’s brought in well over $1.5 million to help underrepresented populations in STEM disciplines, it’s awesome to see what this funding is doing,” Golich said.

Golich also noted the successful efforts of Brandi Scott and the Center for Equity and Student Achievement; Fulbright-Hays recipients James Aubrey, Ph.D., Andrew Muldoon, Ph.D., and Akbarali Thobhani, Ph.D., leading a group to India this summer; and other initiatives involving the College Assistance Migrant Program, skin-cancer prevention and humanitarian engineering.

Technical support, including budget preparation, proposal writing, editing, database training, writing workshops and identifying funding opportunities are just some of the myriad services that are available in OSRP, Mami added.