College of Education initiates
Support Program for Advancing Research and Collaboration

"SPARC was developed to provide an additional avenue for faculty and graduate students to seek external support for current and future interests," Interim Dean Donna Wiseman said. "As one of the nation's leading Research 1 universities, advancing the College of Education's research agenda is a top priority, and the SPARC program is designed to promote a climate of support and entrepreneurship," Wiseman added.

Awards disseminated by the program will be funded through Designated Research Initiated Fund (DRIF) money received from past college successes. Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education Greg Hancock will oversee the program. "SPARC embodies the commitment of our college to its faculty and its graduate students," said Hancock. "Our hope is that this program will assist pre-tenure faculty in getting their research agendas on track, help post-tenure faculty parlay their rich experiences into fruitful collaborative efforts, and offer our graduate students an additional resource as they develop into first-rate researchers."

SPARC awards are available to full-time, tenure/tenure-track faculty in good standing, as well as graduate students. There are four categories of awards:

• Pre-tenure Faculty Awards Provide seed money to tenure-track assistant professors, specifically toward the development of grant applications (or, possibly, toward the completion of research manuscripts). Awardees will be required to participate in a colloquium to share their findings and/or research goals as related to the award.
  Maximum individual award: $10,000
  
  
• Post-tenure Faculty Awards Provide seed money to tenured associate professors and professors, specifically toward the development of grant applications. Preference will be given to collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts, including those across the college, the university, and peer institutions. Awardees will also be required to participate in a colloquium to share their findings and/or research goals as related to the award.
  Maximum award: $15,000
  (SPARC allows for funding of one exceptional award of up to $25,000 per academic year toward the development of large, collaborative, interdisciplinary research proposals. Pre-submittal contact with the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education is required.)
  
  
• Graduate Student Research Support Awards
  Provide support to graduate students who wish to conduct independent research toward a dissertation or scholarly publication. The award may be used for pilot research, professional training (e.g., in using special databases), travel specifically for research, specialized research equipment, purchase of surveys, pilot data transcription, etc. Funds are not to be used for health benefits, living expenses, travel to professional conferences, or tuition remission.
  Maximum award: $500
  
  
• Dean's Special Initiative Awards
  Amounts designated by the Dean of the College of Education for a specific research focus the Dean wishes to emphasize.

For further details on SPARC, visit the Funding & Grant Development website: www.education.umd.edu/grants. Interested persons can also email Greg Hancock, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education (ghancock@umd.edu), or Elizabeth Lintz, Director of Grant Development and Sponsored Research (elintz@umd.edu).