Grant funding secured by School of Education faculty members rose 21 percent to $5.73 million in the fiscal year ending June 30 over the previous year.
“Our faculty continues to lead research in a range of areas,” said Dean Bill McDiarmid. “This increase in funding reflects the effort many faculty have put into generating strong proposals, as well as the quality of the work proposed. That we see an increase in funding at a time when the competition for research funding has never been more intense is very impressive.”
McDiarmid also gave credit to Professor Judith Meece, who has coordinated and led efforts among faculty to pursue grant opportunities and has assisted junior faculty in applying for funds.
Meece said leadership from senior faculty has been important in helping build relationships that lead to research proposals that can win funding.
“During Dean McDiarmid’s tenure, the School has added four endowed professorships,” Meece said. “These professors play a significant role in the School for developing research teams and mentoring new scholars.”
The faculty have also continued to strengthen relationships with researchers in other units and schools across campus, building multidisciplinary teams that can tackle larger research problems, she said.
“Collaboration across units on the Carolina campus is the ‘secret sauce’ that leads to increased grant funding,” Meece said. “We are fortunate to have at Carolina world class scholars in a wide variety of areas and a collaborative culture that facilitates creation of winning research teams.”