Faculty, staff, and students came together to honor faculty and staff efforts in seeking, securing, and administering external funding at the inaugural Grant Activities Celebration event on Oct. 26 in Grey Towers Castle.

Over the past five years, faculty and staff at Arcadia were involved in the implementation of 44 research and development grants with approximately $3 million spent from federal and nonfederal funds. External funding within the health sciences fields have enabled implementation of projects on issues such as hip fractures, Parkinson’s Disease, cerebral palsy, shoulder and spinal cord injuries, total knee replacement, and mobility issues in older adults. Other grants have helped to fund a variety of projects including nature and art conservation, film production, organization of art exhibitions, student wellness, curriculum development, school improvement, educational access, performance optimization of rechargeable batteries, and neutrino particles detection.

At the event, which was organized by the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs in cooperation with the Provost’s Office, Interim President Hank Brown and Provost Dr. John Hoffman thanked the faculty and staff for their dedication and commitment to promoting academic excellence, advancing research, and pursuing external funding to implement critical initiatives that contribute to the University’s scholastic mission.

Presenters Ann Holmes, University of Maryland Assistant dean for Finance and Administration, and Dr. Elizabeth Brittan-Powell, University of Maryland director of Joint Research Collaborations, highlighted key strategies in obtaining external funding and talked about the invaluable experience that sponsored research opportunities create for students.

“One must have perseverance, creativity, resilience, and passion for research and scholarly exploration in order to land a funded proposal in this tough funding environment,” said Nataliia Shablia, director of Sponsored Research and Programs at Arcadia. “These essential qualities will ensure that challenging grant applications will become exciting funded initiatives for Arcadia.”