Welcome to the first issue of the year for the UNF Research and Sponsored Programs Newsletter!

The goal of this occasional e-mail bulletin is to highlight research activities at UNF, share upcoming opportunities for faculty research, summarize important changes to federal and state regulations and provide information on new UNF policies and procedures that impact research and sponsored activities across campus. We welcome any and all feedback on this newsletter, especially suggestions for future topics that you’d like to see us cover.   

Kristin Douberly is a research development coordinator at ORSP, where she assists faculty and staff interested in pursuing external funding. She comes to ORSP with a strong background in research coordination. Prior to her arrival as an employee at UNF, Kristin was a student, earning her B.A. in sociology (Summa Cum Laude) and her M.S. in applied sociology. Kristin was also extremely active in undergraduate and graduate level research which included publication in several journals and presentations for national sociological organizations. Kristin maintains membership with the Southern Sociological Society, the American Sociological Association and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Read More  

As part of a new program supported by Academic Affairs, faculty with external research funding have a new option to complement the traditional course buyout - “buying out” their academic-year research time and deferring this effort to the summer. Read More...

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) and the Office of Faculaty Enhancement hosted the 5th Annual Scholars Transforming Academic Research Symposium (STARS) in mid-April to recognize stars who excelled in sponsored activities during fiscal years 2011-12 and 2013-14. STARS is a showcase of research excellence highlighting faculty, staff, administrators and graduate students across disciplines within the university community. Read More...

National Science Foundation Research Opportunity Awards enable faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs) like UNF to pursue research as visiting scientists with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions. Read More...

 UNF has a new finance and administration (F and A) costs policy and related procedures that went into effect June 2014.  

Often referred to as “indirect costs,” F and A costs are defined by federal regulations and negotiated with the federal government to reflect the “costs of doing business” for university research and related activities that are paid by an external contractor. State statute limits the use of recovered F and A funds. The funds must first be allocated to covering the costs of research administration and second to supporting the university’s research activities. Within those restrictions, each university implements its own policies for collecting and using F and A costs.  Read More... 

In February 2012, the UNF Institutional Review Board (IRB) transitioned from a paper submission and review process to an online process through the use of the online submission software, IRBNet. At that time, the IRB decided to allow older projects that were submitted prior to IRBNet to remain in paper form for a time to allow researchers to acclimate to the new online system. The UNF IRB recently began the migration process into IRBNet for extensions of older projects. If your project was approved prior to February 2012 and identified as exempt, the UNF IRB approval does not expire and an extension is not required. For that reason, migration to IRBNet will only affect expedited and full board projects. Read More...

The UNF Environmental Center welcomed Dr. David Lambert as its new director effective, July 1. Dr. Lambert replaces interim director Dr. Stuart Chalk. Read More...