Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back! I hope your break was restful and your semester is off to a great start.
Last month, you were alerted on the anticipated call for proposals for reinvestment in support of the WSU Strategic Plan, themes one and two. That RFP has now been officially released – you should have received the announcement at close of business, yesterday, from the Provost’s Office. As anticipated, this will be a limited submission process, and the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture may submit two proposals as the lead college. There is no limit to the number of proposals in which we participate that are led by other colleges.
Here is a reminder of some of the critical provisions of the RFP:
- Proposals will be submitted by the college deans, and one additional proposal will be accepted from the Office of Undergraduate Education and Office of Student Affairs.
- Every proposal must involve a interdisciplinary group, and must include two or more colleges.
- Proposals can either be aimed at student success (increasing retention and the student experience) or research grand challenges as defined by the Office of Research Grand Challenges.
- Funds requested can be either permanent or one-time.
- The campuses other than Pullman are similarly conducting a reallocation process, for reinvestment at those locations.
- Letters of intent will be due February 15.
- Proposals are due April 1.
This week we held workshops with the chairs, directors, associate deans, and research leadership to discuss how the Voiland College will respond to this RFP. This group will be talking with potential collaborators, developing concepts, and putting together brief descriptions that can be shared with the college leadership of other colleges to look for common interests. We are hoping to maximize our collaborations with our colleagues from other colleges and units in WSU, and develop proposals that will position us to bring in additional external resources for our research programs aimed at the Grand Challenges.
If you have ideas that you would like to have considered or would like to participate in developing a concept, please contact either your department chair, school director, or associate dean. If you did not receive the email from the Provost’s Office with the RFP and FAQs, please let either your chair or me know, and we’ll be sure that you get that information.
Thank you in advance for your interest in the research grand challenges and student success.
Sincerely,
Candis Claiborn
Dean, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture