TAKING FOR GRANTED

Southeast Missouri State University annually garners millions of dollars in grants to fund everything from mosquito studies to the regional crime lab.

In fiscal 1997, the university received a record $5.29 million in grants to fund 112 projects.

By comparison, the university was awarded 86 grants totaling $3.7 million in fiscal 1996 and 96 grants for $4.59 million in fiscal 1995.

The grant information was disclosed in a report prepared by the university's sponsored programs office.

The federal government provided the biggest share of the funding, some $3 million. State grants totaled nearly $2 million. Private foundations provided grants to the school totaling $72,000. Grants from local entities totaled more than $142,000.

Local grants include those provided by the Area Wide United Way and local governments to fund specific services or projects, school officials said.

Grants are important to the university, said Dr. Charles Kupchella, university provost.

They finance everything from the Reading Recovery literacy program for first-graders to operation of the earthquake center, which focuses on educating the region on earthquake preparedness.

The earthquake center receives funding from the federal and state emergency management agencies.

Personnel for some programs, like the federal Trio programs that target at-risk students, are paid entirely with grant money.

Grants not only finance the research or service projects themselves, but they also provide an opportunity for students to participate under the direction of faculty members, Kupchella said.

Grant money is used to buy equipment or supplies for various projects, as well as to pay faculty members for their time spent on various projects.

Kupchella and Dr. Velmer Burton, associate provost for graduate studies and research, said Southeast has done a better job of securing grants than many regional state universities.

Many schools of similar size secure grants totaling only $1 million to $2 million a year, Burton said.

Kupchella credited Southeast's faculty for the school's success in securing grants.

"I think we have a good cadre of faculty that are fired up to do that," he said.

Burton said most grants are secured by faculty. The university's office of sponsored programs provides assistance. That office comes under the supervision of Burton.

"We play a support role, but the faculty members have to write the proposals," said Burton.

"The thing about grantsmanship, once a faculty member obtains a grant from a funding agency and they do a good job, they have a better chance of getting a grant the second and third time," he said.

"For that reason," said Burton, "we have a good relationship with funding agencies."

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president, said the university's success at securing grants helps in the recruitment of new faculty members and points to the quality of the faculty already employed at the school.

In fiscal 1997, the most active unit on campus was the College of Health and Human Services, which was awarded $2.27 million for 49 projects.

The student affairs division received six awards totaling $1.2 million.

Kupchella said the university hopes to continue to secure even more grant money in the coming years.

Southeast's goal is to annually reach a grant level of from $8 million to $10 million, he said.

School officials said the university has come a long way since fiscal 1994 when it received 71 grants worth $2.37 million.

The number of grant requests has jumped too.

In fiscal 1996, 107 proposals totaling $4.8 million were submitted. In fiscal 1997, 135 grant proposals totaling more than $7 million were submitted.