UW Part of Regional Research Support Coalition

The University of Wyoming is part of a coalition of esteemed Northern Plains research institutions that has been awarded a grant of nearly $100,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to bring together research support professionals across the region.

The group -- spearheaded by South Dakota State University (SDSU) and including other research institutions from South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska -- secured the grant through NSF’s GRANTED (Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity) program. This program aims to address systemic barriers within the nation’s research enterprise by providing enhanced research support and services to emerging research institutions.

The primary objective of the grant is to support the organization of a groundbreaking conference, bringing together research support professionals from across the region. The event is scheduled June 6-7, 2024, at Black Hills State University’s facility in Rapid City, S.D.

Through the grant, travel and lodging expenses for 50 research support professionals attending the conference will be fully covered. This diverse group of professionals represents a wide array of higher education institutions from across the Northern Plains, including emerging research institutions and tribal colleges and universities.

The conference extends invitations to research leaders from all Wyoming community colleges and tribal colleges to participate. Further details regarding the conference will be made available in the near future.

Leading the grant as its principal investigator is Dianne Nagy, assistant vice president for research development and administration at SDSU. Joining as a co-principal investigator is UW Director of Research Services Farrell Rapp, who will represent UW and collaboratively plan and coordinate the conference with representatives of Montana State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and North Dakota State University.

“We are delighted that Farrell Rapp will be representing the University of Wyoming as a co-principal investigator and will be involved in the planning, organization and assessment of this project,” says Parag Chitnis, UW’s vice president for research and economic development. “In her leadership role, she will work diligently to ensure that the needs of Wyoming’s institutions of higher education, including eight community colleges, are effectively incorporated into the discussion at the conference.”

Organizers say the conference is poised to become a pivotal event, empowering research support professionals in the Northern Plains region to drive innovation and progress throughout the academic landscape.

“This gathering will foster valuable exchanges of proven practices, resource sharing and the establishment of future collaborations,” Nagy says. “Our focus is shifting from serving individual institutions to supporting the entire regional research enterprise; promoting greater cooperation and resource optimization among understaffed units and institutions with limited resources for hosting events; and creating training materials.”