The ORSP Update Newsletter

Do you know of a student who is interested in learning more about research and creative activities working alongside a faculty member? Click here to view our Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF) flyer, which includes the application link. Applications are due November 6, 2025.

Provost Research Grant (PRG)*

Looking for funding to support your research/creative activity? Reach out to your Grants Specialist, Catherine Spaur (CSpau@wcupa.edu) or Cara Williams (CWilliams@wcupa.edu), with any questions. Applications are due by 5:00pm, on Monday, November 21, 2025. Click here to apply.

*Yes, you are able apply for both the PRG and the FPDC grants! Please note that the grants may not fund the same activities and budget line items. You may request funding for example, to support Objective 1 via the PRG and Objective 2 via the FPDC; however, funding for the two proposals may not be dependent on each other to complete the project if only one is awarded. The PRG awards will be announced in mid-December before the FPDC due date of January 21, 2026.

Faculty Professional Development Council (FPDC)*

This program is intended to provide professional growth opportunities for individual faculty, with a focus on projects that encourage student success. To review the call for proposals and to apply, please go to the WCU PASSHE FPDC application form. Applications are due for initial, internal review by 5pm on Tuesday, January 21st, 2026.

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Listen to our latest Podcast Episode!

Drs. Megan Heckert, John Ulrich, and Crystal Loose joined us on ORSP’s The Faculty Forum to discuss the importance of collaborating with external partners and how to achieve those partnerships. Listen below!

October ORSP Flyer

View the ORSP Podcast Transcript

Stay tuned! Next month we’re talking all about:

"Leveraging AI to Enhance Research Feedback for Faculty and Students Without Replacing Critical Thinking."

Faculty Research Spotlights

Dr. Lynne Elkins

Dr. Lynne Elkins is faculty in Earth & Space Sciences, where she studies how deep planetary processes like the generation of magma (melting of rocks) is connected to plate tectonics at the Earth’s surface. She uses techniques like field observations of volcanic areas, laboratory analyses of the compositions of volcanic rocks, and computational modeling to explore questions like what kinds of rocks melt inside the Earth, and where and how that occurs. Her current projects focus on using computational methods that solve equations for the concentrations of elements and isotopes during a prolonged, complex melting process.

Lynne Elkins next to a mound of rocks Two people with a pulley system being used to lift material out of ocean A mountain view from ship

Dr. Casey Schmitt

From June 28 to August 2, Prof. Casey R. Schmitt participated in Tuko Pamoja, a Fulbright-Hays Faculty Group Project Abroad in Tanzania. Schmitt and nine other educators from around the United States were selected, in partnership with the School for International Training (SIT) to tour the country, meet with Tanzanian educators and innovators, and, above all, to learn about East African perspectives on climate change. Schmitt and his partners collaborated to create curriculum for secondary and post-secondary schools that highlights how African communities are directly experiencing and responding to changing climate patterns in their environment. Schmitt will formally present stories and details from his experience at a public event on Wednesday, November 19, at 5:00pm in the Sykes Student Union.

Schmitt presents a curricular activity developed with partners in Zanibar Schmitt (center, kneeling) with Tuko Pamoja participants and partners on Pemba Island

Want your research to be highlighted? Submit your research story here!

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Recently Awarded Grants

Dr. Carlos Morales-Ramirez, Geography & Planning, Case Study Analysis and Media Services for a Coastal View Vision Plan Phase, County of Delaware (DelCo), $21,212 *

Dr. Russell Losco, Earth and Space Sciences, Agronomic Science Foundation Collegiate Soil Judging Travel & Equipment, Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF), $2,000

Dr. Quincy Miller, Psychology, Comparing Virtual and In-Person Child Forensic Interviews: The Impact of Rapport and Age on Transgression Disclosures and Reports, American Psychological Association, $5,000 *

Dr. Stevie Grassetti, Psychology, The Clock Tower School Mental Health Support, The Clock Tower School CTS, $15,000 *

*In the process of being negotiated

Upcoming External Funding Opportunities

Health Sciences

Continuous due date: The Voice Foundation

3 due dates/year: NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions

3 due dates/year: NIH Small Research Grant Program R03

Science & Mathematics

Rolling due date: The Simons Foundation Targeted Grants in Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS)

7/22/2026: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)

Upcoming Student Opportunities

Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF)

Are you an undergraduate student interested in a paid research or creative activity opportunity? Click here to view our SURF flyer and get more information! Due November 6, 2025.

Surf Application

Student Research and Creative Activity Awards (SRCA)

The Spring 2026 Student Research and Creative (SRCA) Awards will recognize outstanding graduate and undergraduate students who have completed original research or creative projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Call for proposals will go out 11/18/2025.

Research & Creative Activity Day (RCAD)

This event highlights student, faculty, and administrator research from all academic disciplines across our campus community. Call for abstracts will go out on 12/01/2025.

Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI)

This is an opportunity for students to work collaboratively with a faculty mentor through a paid five-week program, conducting research and creative activities which will help prepare students for graduate-level studies and/or careers. Call for proposals will go out 12/01/2025.

Introducing the New Graduate Statistical Consulting Center

Need help with statistics? Graduate Students in Applied Statistics are here to support you from start to finish. Check out the flyer below for more details!

Student Research Opportunities

Explore upcoming student research events. Click image below for a full listing of activities and resources.

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ORSP Fall 2025 Events

The ORSP Update