The FPDC is Back, Grants Funding is Up

After a two-year hiatus, the Faculty Professional Development Council (FPDC) is funding grants again. FPDC grants program is funded by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Millersville faculty submitted 16 proposals and six were funded. In addition, Dr. Rene Muñoz, director of Sponsored Programs & Research Administration at Millersville, says overall funding for grants is up approximately 25 percent over last year.

“We requested about the same amount last year,” said Muñoz. “However, we were funded better this year. I believe we had better proposals, and we have some new faculty who are aggressively pursuing grants as well.” Last year Millersville received approximately $3.2 million in grants, and this year the number is close to $4.5 million.

The largest grant funded this year was submitted by Dr. Richard Clark, earth sciences. Clark, along with Dr. Todd Sikora, received $290,000 for the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) study. Clark also received funding from NASA in the amount of $240,000 to participate in the final of four campaigns to study air pollution.

“We have participated in DISCOVER-AQ in campaigns to study the Baltimore-Washington airshed (Summer 2011), Central Valley, Calif. (Winter 2013) and Houston, Texas (Summer 2013),” explained Clark. “This summer we will be deploying the Millersville University Atmospheric Research and Aerostat Facility (MARAF) at Table Mountain near Golden, Colo.”

A $1,000,000 grant to the National Science Foundation is currently pending. This grant, submitted by Dr. Judith Cebra-Thomas, biology, with help from five other faculty members: Drs. Natalia Dushkina, Ajoy Kumar, Robert Smith, Tyrone Washington and LaVern Whisenton-Davidson, would provide summer research experiences for Millersville students hoping for STEM careers.