Research Dean’s Corner
We have worked remotely due the pandemic, this shift has largely blurred the lines between our work and home lives. While the pandemic has strained everyone, the stress and impacts from Covid-19 are felt more severely by some. Among our PIs and faculty members, the pandemic has brought heavy tolls for those who have lost family or friends, our early career faculty, women faculty, faculty who are caregivers of young children and elderly parents, and faculty of color. Some of you have shared the struggles and losses you’ve experienced in the past year. I’ve heard from some of you that you feel you’ve lost an entire year of your life. This past year has been hard on us mentally, emotionally, and physically. It has been exhausting. Without a doubt, we are still very much in the pandemic, but it appears that we’ve made it through the worst of it and will collectively emerge with newfound resilience and insights. We are positioned to apply our collective grit, strengths, and talents to contribute to solutions to the ongoing and long-term impacts of this pandemic in our society. Until next time, thanks and Gig `em!
Council of Principal Investigators (CPI)
Dr. Tamika Gilreath, CPI Chair
- X-Grants – Dr. Jeffrey Liew mentioned that for the first time in the X-Grants’ history, they have more social behavior research reviewers than from engineering. If you are interested in being a reviewer for the X-Grants, let Dr. Liew know and he will put your name forward.
- US Department of Education’s IES program – faculty discussed the purview of this program and the types of proposals from unexpected perspectives that might be successful.
- Overview of services the CERD preaward office can provide, particularly with the introduction of the new Sr. Research Development Officer.
- Progress on the CPI Goals that were set for the 2020/2021 year.
Pre-award Updates
ERD Pre-award Office hires new Senior Research Development Officer
We are pleased to announce that Julie Svetlik joined the CERD Pre-award Office in November as our new senior research development officer. As the senior research development officer for our college, Julie will be helping faculty identify funding opportunities and to foster collaborations and partnerships that exhibit potential for furthering the CEHD mission and strategic goals. She looks forward to meeting everyone and learning more about your research programs, so she can better support and assist you with funding opportunities and proposal development.
POST-award Updates
Summer Payroll Planning Has Started
The Post-Award Research Services team would like to take the opportunity to remind faculty and staff that we have begun planning for summer payroll efforts on research accounts. Over the next few weeks, we ask that faculty and staff please check your inboxes for emails from our staff and shared email addresses regarding plans for summer Graduate Research Assistants (GARs) and hourly student workers. If faculty plan to charge effort to research grant accounts for Summer, please coordinate with your post award representative, or contact the shared email box listed below. In addition to research effort, if faculty will be teaching courses during the Summer, or if they will be supported by departmental sources, this information is very helpful during the planning process. We encourage anyone who has questions about summer payroll efforts on research accounts to contact our office at any time by emailing cerdpayroll@tamu.edu.
Outreach Services Update
Spring Forecast
The first day of spring is just a few days away and I am forecasting the best spring ever and hopefully you are too! CERD Outreach has continued to work hard through the fall and winter to find ways to connect with and for faculty of the College. Since there has been no travel, we have focused on local initiatives including Brazos Valley Teach. BVT is a brand new project funded by the Greater Texas Foundation. Lead PI Dr. Val Hill-Jackson (TLAC) and Co-PI Dr. Leann Smith (EPSY) are working with three local pilot districts, Caldwell, Hearne and Bryan ISDs. Brazos Valley Teach (BVT) is an innovative college bridge and transfer transition program designed for high school students who know that a career in teaching is for them.