ISU officials would like to see more faculty searching for sponsored funding for their research.

The participation rate for faculty investigating sponsored funding was 58 percent for Fiscal Year 1998, 1999 and 2000, according to an article in the graduate studies’ publication Research and Graduate Education. James Bloedel, vice provost for Research and Advanced Studies, said he would like to see the figure eventually increase to 80 percent.

“[Sponsored funding is] important for providing an environment on campus that is rich in opportunities for our students,” he said.

Bloedel said sponsored funding is an essential component for graduate and undergraduate programs with a research focus.

“The sponsored funding basically brings in dollars that run research labs in which undergraduate students can perform research and graduate students can work on their theses,” he said.

The College of Engineering had the highest participation in the program with 81 percent and the College of Agriculture follows closely behind 79 percent, the article said.

James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering, said his college tries to emphasize the importance of research, but added that there is still room for improvement in the area of sponsored funding.

“I think it’s part of our expectation goals of our profession,” he said. “I don’t think we’re doing enough yet.”

Money from the funding provides research equipment, supplies and travel, Melsa said.

“Dollars are important,” he said. “It’s pretty clear that this state is not going to supply the dollars that we need to do research.”

Melsa said factors such as a lack of time and too much work may be reasons for faculty not wanting to search for sponsored funding.

“It takes effort to write proposals, to stay current,” he said. “It’s not an easy task to do, and some people, I think, don’t believe they want to take the time to do it.”

Bloedel also said some faculty do not search for sponsored funding because it doesn’t apply to their area.

“It’s hard to suggest that all faculty should be engaged in sponsored funding,” he said. “We would like to encourage all faculty to be engaged in scholarship in their area of expertise, but that may not be an area appropriate for sponsored funding.”

Melsa said he would ideally like to see all of the faculty in his college involved in searching for sponsored funding, adding that the performance objective for the college in 2003 is $50 million in sponsored research.

He said he would like to see to about $250,000 per faculty member on average to reach this goal.

It is also important to remember that not all research is for discovery, Melsa said, adding that much of the work done is applied research, undergraduate labs and investigation of better ways to teach.

“[It includes a] whole broad range of what we call research,” he said.

Melsa said the college is trying to increase faculty participation in sponsored funding.

“We certainly continue to point out the importance of doing it,” he said. “It’s just a pretty well-accepted feature of what we do in the College of Engineering. We just think we have to be a major research player.”

Melsa said the college encourages faculty to start research agendas, adding that research is critical in tenure and promotion consideration.

Bloedel said his office is also broadening its effort to inform faculty of available funding in their area of expertise.

“We’re continuously engaged in interactions with faculty, both in terms of face-to-face discussion, as well as informing them of new funding initiatives that are available for faculty application,” he said.