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OER Report of Accomplishments

The OER has completed a draft of its annual report outlining data on externally funded projects and grants activities. We are pleased that faculty productivity has been sustained, and efforts toward securing external funding remain active.

The following represents a summary of accomplishments for FY 2012-2013:

•  COE faculty members in all schools and centers have submitted a total of 66 proposals, requesting $66.8 million. Proposal submissions included 18 NSF, 9 US Department of Education (5 for IES contracts), 10 Florida Department of Education, and 2 Spencer proposals.

• Research funding per faculty member totaled $429K, a 40% increase.

•  COE PIs and Co-PIs had 22 proposals funded totaling over $30 million in new awards, including one NSF and one US Department of Education/IES contract, a 17% increase.

•  Finally, COE schools and centers have 67 currently funded projects totaling $77.7 million, a 39% increase.

Congratulations for another banner year!

The final version of OER’s annual report will be available through the OER website soon.

 

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Senate Approves FY 2014 Education Bill

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved a FY 2014 bill providing money to improve early childhood care and education. Several highlights are summarized below.

  • Head Start: The bill includes $9.6 billion for Head Start. This includes $1.4 billion to expand Early Head Start and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships.
  • Child Care: The bill includes $2.5 billion for Child Care Development Block Grants.
  • Preschool Development Grants: The bill includes $750 million for a new program to support states’ efforts to expand or create high-quality preschool systems for four-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families.
  • Investing in Innovation: The bill provides $170 million for the Investing in Innovation education program.
  • Special Education: The bill provides $11.7 billion for educating students with disabilities, including: $463 million to support statewide systems of coordinated and early intervention services for two-year-olds and younger with disabilities, as well as their families; and $70 million to support research on how people with disabilities learn and how best to meet their educational needs.
  • Title I (Education for the Disadvantaged): The bill includes $14.6 billion for Title I grants to school districts for improving education for low-income students.

Visit this page for a complete summary.

To read the complete bill, visit http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1284/text.

 

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Free iThenticate Accounts Available for Faculty, Post-Docs

Reprinted from UF Postdoctoral Update July 23, 2013

The iThenticate anti-plagiarism service is available free for faculty and graduate students through UFIT’s campus-wide contract. IThenticate can be used to scan your own possible publications and grant proposals to ensure proper citation of all sources prior to submission. Many government organizations use Ithenticate to review funding proposals and documents, including the NIH, NSF, and EPA.

To use, go to the LSS website, open Research Tools, click on iThenticate, and then click on Request an Account. Email UFIT’s e-Learning Support Services team for assistance with iThenticate or any of your online learning support needs.

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Qualifications for Principal Investigators of Human Subjects Research

Reprinted from UF Administrative Memo
July 11, 2013

Working with the three UF IRB’s (IRB-01, 02, 03), faculty stakeholders, and research deans in affected colleges, the Office of Research has developed guidelines to better define the qualifications needed to be a Principal Investigator (PI) of a human subjects research project.

The new guidelines are posted on the UF IRB website and specifically address the role students can play in overseeing human subject research. The University must ensure that PIs are suitably qualified and accountable for all aspects of research projects, and that other investigators are qualified to fulfill the requested role. The IRBs designate as PI the person who either conducts and/or oversees the entire protocol. The PI is also the person held accountable by the University and IRBs to ensure all human subjects’ regulations and any financial issues are addressed. A PI often delegates some of the research activities to students, study coordinators, or others; however, the PI remains accountable for the protocol.

These guidelines were updated to be consistent with peer institutions, are effective July 15, 2013, and will apply to any new protocol or revision request submitted. They are available at http://irb.ufl.edu/docs/studentpolicy.pdf.

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Office of Research Restructuring Announcement

Reprinted from UF Administrative Memo
May 28, 2013

Over the past year, the UF Office of Research has undergone some restructuring to better serve the needs of the UF research enterprise. The Office of Research is now composed of the following:

  • The Division of Sponsored Programs, formerly known as DSR, facilitates institutional approval for all extramural proposal submissions, accepts and administers grant awards, and negotiates contracts and other research-related agreements on behalf of the University of Florida.
  • The Division of Research Compliance supports and promotes ethical research practices at the University of Florida that fully comply with all federal, state, and local laws, and is responsible for coordinating institution-wide research compliance policy and procedure.
  • The Division of Research Program Development assists UF faculty and staff in the pursuit of internal and external research funding, coordinates internal funding programs, and assists in coordinating large interdisciplinary research initiatives.
  • The Division of Research Operations and Services provides support that underpins the campus-wide services that are part of the Office of Research portfolio.

Other functions within the Office of Research such as institutional oversight and research communications remain unchanged.

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Awarded Projects for July 2013

College of Education – Awarded Projects – July 2013
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of Florida Foundation
Project Title: Palm Beach Count STEM Initiative-PEW
Project Period: 05/15/2013—05/30/2014
Award Amount: $337,959.00
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of Florida Foundation
Project Title: Palm Beach Count STEM Initiative-Quantum
Project Period: 05/01/2013—06/30/2016
Award Amount: $905,894.00
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of Florida Foundation
Project Title: Palm Beach County STEM Initiative—Community
Project Period: 06/01/2013—05/31/2015
Award Amount: $661,203.00
Principal Investigator: Marisa Stukey (PK Yonge)
Co-PI: Christy Garison (PK Yonge)
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Education
Project Title: RTTT—District Evaluation Systems Monitoring
Project Period: 05/15/2013—06/30/2014
Award Amount: $30,000.00
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Submitted Projects for July 2013

College of Education – Submitted Projects – July 2013
Principal Investigator: Pasha Antonenko (STL)
Co-PI: Kent Crippen (STL), Treavor Boyer (Environmental Engineering Sciences)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: Co-regulation of Distributed Cognition and Collaboration in STEM Problem Solving
Requested Amount: $1,493,368.00
Principal Investigator: Elliot Douglas (Materials Science & Engineering)
Co-PI: Mirka Koro-Ljungberg (SHDOSE), David Therriault (SHDOSE)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: How Engineers Approach Ill-Structured Problems
Requested Amount: $1,005,269.00
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of Florida Foundation
Proposal Title: Palm Beach County STEM Initiative–Quantum
Requested Amount: $900,430.00
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI:
Funding Agency: University of Florida Foundation
Proposal Title: Palm Beach County STEM Initiative–Pew
Requested Amount: $900,430.00
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of Florida Foundation
Proposal Title: Palm Beach County STEM Initiative–Community
Requested Amount: $900,430.00
Principal Investigator: Alice Kay Emery (SESPECS)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Education
Proposal Title: Working with the Experts Project (Part B) 2013–2014
Requested Amount: $175,000.00
Principal Investigator: David Miller (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Take Stock in Children
Proposal Title: Take Stock in Children Evaluation
Requested Amount: $48,612.38
Principal Investigator: Bernard Oliver (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: The School District of Palm Beach County (Subcontract)
Proposal Title: iLEAD Academy Project
Requested Amount: $1,137,891.00
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