Kansas State University

Academic Excellence Awards provide funding for lectures, travel and more; new proposals due Sept. 15 and Dec. 15

Submitted by Michelle Langvardt

Allowing undergraduates to present their research at a conference and to hear a Pulitzer Prize-winning author speak are just a few of the ways that Academic Excellence Fund Awards are helping Kansas State University students.

The fund combines resources from the offices of the president, provost, and administration and finance. Faculty have two opportunities during the academic year to propose projects for funding. Following review of the submitted proposals, the university has selected the following items:

• Denis Medeiros, human nutrition, $1,500 to support a lecture by Dr. Connie Weaver; Sonya Britt, Kristy Archuleta and John Grable, family studies and human services, $23,960 to support the purchase of bio-monitoring/feedback equipment, including hardware and software; Ken Hughey, special education, counseling and student affairs, $1,000 for the Chet Peters Lecture; Lorne Render, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, $10,000 to support an exhibition and preparing the publication "Makers Framed: Photographic Portraits by George Kren."
• Andrew Kaczynski, kinesiology, $2,600 to support travel to two upcoming conferences for two students in the master of public health program; Jeff Pickering, political science, $5,000 to support upgrades in departmental offices in Waters Hall; James Neill, statistics, $3,000 to support the purchase of laptop computers for use in classroom instruction; Anthony Joern, biology, $2,000 to support the upcoming Grasslands in a Global Context international conference; Michael Herman and Loretta Johnson, Ecological Genomics Institute, $5,000 to support the ninth Ecological Genomics Symposium in November.
• Ashley Rhodes, biology and physiology, $1,500 to purchase a collection of animal skeletons for teaching purposes; Blake Belanger, Jon Hunt and Michael Macklin, landscape architecture and architecture, $10,000 to support a collaborative project between two design courses in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design; Alok Bhandari and Dave Fritchen, civil engineering and architectural engineering and construction science, $10,000 for equipment for the Mechanics of Materials Laboratory; Shannon Washburn and Steven Harbstreit, communications, $1,550 to support the purchase of six shoot and share camcorders.
• Charles Moore, mathematics, $5,790 to support recruitment and travel expenses for the graduate program in mathematics; Myra Gordon, diversity and dual career development, $1,000 for support of programs and activities for the Black Student Union, and $1,000 to support programs and activities of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization; Ernie Perez, Information Technology Assistance Center, $2,000 to support activities and programs of Allianz; Gerry Craig, art, $10,000 to support the purchase of computers and high resolution scanner bed for the art computer lab.
• JohnElla Holmes, College of Arts and Sciences, $4,429 to support travel to two conferences, a retention workshop and open house awards; Elizabeth Fallon, kinesiology, $3,800 to support travel for one faculty member and five undergraduate students to the Society of Behavioral Medicine Conference to present their research; Juanita McGowan, College of Arts and Sciences, $5,000 to support the multicultural academic student fair; Megan Miller and Liz Frink, Graduate Student Council, $1,100 to support the Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year award.
• Daryl Youngman, K-State Libraries, $800 for a lecture and discussion forum by David Finkel, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of "The Good Soldiers"; Stephanie Rolley, landscape architecture and regional and community planning, $5,000 for Design Days Workshop; Carol Shanklin, Graduate School, $5,000 to support student recruitment and networking opportunities; Karol Fike, animal sciences and industry, $515 to support a field trip to ranches in Kansas; and David Grieger, animal sciences and industry, $10,000 for upgrades in a Weber Hall teaching lab.

The next proposals are due Sept. 15. Frequently, separate requests were made to each office to secure financial support for a specific project, which was often inefficient. To make these funds easier to access and to provide equitable opportunities for units across campus to apply for these funds, all requests will go toward one centralized pool of funds. Proposals seeking normal operating funds will not be considered from the Academic Excellence Fund and will be returned.

Guidelines for submission

Proposals for Academic Excellence Fund monies will be accepted twice per year and are due Sept. 15 and Dec. 15. Awards for the September submission deadline will be announced around Oct. 15, so proposals should not include requests for monies needed before Nov. 1. The funding decisions for the December submission deadline will be announced around Jan. 23, 2012, and should not include requests for monies needed before Feb. 1, 2012.

Proposals should be in a letter format -- one page maximum -- and should address the following key points:

1. What is the requested amount of the proposal?
2. Who will this proposal impact on campus in terms of advancing scholarship at Kansas State?
3. What other information should be considered when deciding on the merits of your proposal?

Proposals should be sent in electronic format to: Academic Excellence Fund, office of the provost and senior vice president, at acadexcellfund@k-state.edu.