Research programs can attract millions of dollars that make universities learning dynamic places to study and work. As a public land-grant institution, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore embraces its historic role as a place that values inquiry and exploration.
From obtaining funding for the “chicken house of the future,” science-focused summer camps on campus, programs for socially disadvantaged farmers or addressing the diabetes issues confronting citizens on the lower Eastern Shore, UMES’ Office of Sponsored Research Programs administers the university’s portfolio of grant, cooperative agreements and contract awards.
From an annual base of a little over $3 million in fiscal year 1991, grants received by UMES in fiscal year 2011 rose to $23.6 million. That translates into a growth rate of 686 percent over that 20-year span.
UMES’ sponsored research office works with faculty, research associates and students by offering assistance in the preparation and submission of proposals as well as in the administration of grants and contracts.
The office provides UMES researchers with a range of help, including; security services for employees needing federal clearances, support for commercial services used to search for potential funding sources, support for community grant-writing efforts, corporate partnerships and guide compliance with federal and University System of Maryland regulations and reporting requirements. It also organizes workshops and assists with grant-writing and editorial assistance.
As research evolves and changes, and as competition for funding intensifies and becomes more critical, finding new sources of monies is a priority. The sponsored research office’s role is matching research projects with funding sources. These may include government agencies, foundations as well as other research institutions.
New awards made during the 2010-11 fiscal year included highly competitive research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health.
As a result of studies involving chemistry, pharmacology, agriculture and biology, collaborative projects with such major research universities as Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and Morgan State University, UMES experienced a 150 percent increase in funding over the previous year.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through its Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions, partnered with UMES to launch the Living Marine Resources Science Center to nurture marine scientists and researchers. It was a natural fit for UMES, located 16 miles from the Chesapeake Bay to the west, and roughly 26 miles from coastal bays that flank barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean.
The UMES-based center was formed around a partnership that included Delaware State, Hampton and Savannah State universities, the University of Miami, Oregon State University and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
