Phone: 707-826-4189

Fax: 707-826-4783

http://www.humboldt.edu/hsuf/

In this Issue:

• Purchasing ITS

Equipment with SPF

Funds

• 2017 ideaFest is almost

here!

• CSU Student Research

Competition Results

• Customer Service

Survey Results

Spring 2017

Pictured top to bottom: Amber

Gaffney, Leena Dallasheh, Tyler

Stumpf and Yojana Miraya Oscco.

2017 McCrone Awards Announced

Three distinguished faculty members have been selected

as recipients of the 2017 McCrone Promising Faculty

Scholars Award. Join us in congratulating Amber Gaffney,

Leena Dallasheh, and Tyler Stumpf! Selected for exhibiting

potential in their specific field, each faculty member will

receive $1,500 to assist their program of creative activity,

scholarship, or research.

The Alistair & Judith McCrone Graduate Fellowship Award

went to Yojana Miraya Oscco, who is enrolled in the

Environment & Community Masters in Social Science under

the guidance of Dr. J. Mark Baker. Yojana

has been selected for demonstrating potential

to succeed in her chosen field, and will have

$3,000 applied to her tuition for the upcoming

academic year.

All of this year’s recipients will be honored at a

reception on Wednesday, April 19th where they’ll

deliver short presentations of their research. The

reception, open to the campus community, will

be held in the Great Hall, College Creek starting at

4:00pm. To read brief biographies of each of

the awardees click here.

OFFICE OF RESEARCH, ECONOMIC &

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Newsletter

Featured Articles:

Metrics Overview:

Proposals & Awards

pg. 6

P.I. Spotlight:

Carly Marino

pg. 7

Want to Nominate Someone Next Year?

Do you know someone you would like to nominate for this

or other awards next year? It is never too early to start

thinking ahead! To assist you in mapping out your plans for

future submissions, applications, and nominations within our

office, we've created a master chart of all SPF Internally

Administered Competitions and Awards. Next year’s

McCrone winner could be you!

Page 2 of 12

Coming Soon… DocuSign Routings!

The Sponsored Programs Foundation institutional routing process is moving away from

paper and wet signatures, and going completely electronic! We are currently in the

process of re-designing the routing forms and the flow of documents/signatures to

accommodate the new format. We are very excited about the prospect of streamlining the

entire routing process and optimizing it for speed and ease of use through the new

electronic format.

Look forward to receiving email prompts in the near future that will guide you through

filling, reviewing, signing, and commenting on routings in a user-friendly online

platform. We are about to start the first round of beta tests of the new electronic routing

process to ensure full functionality before we roll it out campus wide. Look for

announcements regarding the new process within the next couple of months, and we will

be looking forward to your feedback to optimize the process as we all learn to use it to its

greatest potential.

Pre-Award Corner

Are you interested in

obtaining grant

funding?

SPF is available to

assist you at each step

along the way. If you

are looking for

funding sources,

please see our

resources for finding

funding available on

our website.

Our Pre-Award

Specialists

Erika Wright (707) 826-5166

Pia Gabriel (707) 826-5203

Tips for Writing Winning Proposals

The CSU hosted a four-part webcast which can be accessed through the CSU portal. The fourth presentation was facilitated by

Dr. Richard Ziegfeld who was introduced as having a 40% win rate on projects worth $1 billion. His presentation on proposal

development was excellent and would be useful for faculty at all levels of proposal experience.

Dr. Ziegfeld’s presentation focused on these seven areas: 1. How to decide whether to apply, 2. Organizing the process, 3.

Preparing the content, 4. Writing the content, 5. Reviewing and revising, 6. Producing and submitting a proposal, and 7. The

Post-submission process.

To view these recorded webcasts visit https://centralstationu.skillport.com and follow the login through your myHumboldt

portal. Next, type “Proposal Development” in the search bar at the top. Finally, launch the course titled “Faculty Research

Proposal Development Webinar” which will contain all four recordings.

Page 3 of 12

Purchasing ITS Hardware with SPF Funds

Before you Buy: Any purchase of a computer, laptop, tablet, hard drive, and/or

accompanying software must be vetted through the University’s ITS Department. When

you decide what product you want, contact your Department ITS representative with the

details. They may ask you for more details or suggest alternative products that will better

fit your budget/needs, and campus infrastructure.

After You Receive Approval: Now you are ready to buy! Using a Purchase Order or

ProCard is an acceptable way to pay for your new tech! A written approval (can be an e-

mail) from ITS must be included with the Purchase Order or ProCard reconciliation. The

product should always be delivered directly to ITS.

When It Arrives: ITS, having vetted the purchase, will be “in the know” when your tech

arrives. They will tag it with a tracking number, and configure it to HSU’s standards. This

can take 1-2 days. The reasons for this are primarily safety related. If you intend to

connect to an HSU server or the campus network at any point, the computer has to be

configured in a certain way.

Additionally, ITS will encrypt the hard drive of laptops. If your tech gets stolen or is lost,

it will be unusable/unreadable to anyone else. If you plan to use the computer off campus,

you will be asked to complete an off-campus use form. This is your acknowledgment of

responsibility for connecting to non-HSU networks, accepting breakage or loss costs, etc.

When the Award Ends: If you purchased your computer, laptop, tablet, or hard drive with

grant funds, the funding agency may request that it be transferred to their possession once

the period of performance ends. If not, it will be transferred to stateside.

5 Years After Purchase: Per University policy, computers older than 5 years must be

wiped clean and destroyed or donated unless there is substantial

reason not to (e.g. it is running specialized equipment). Because

software technology changes so rapidly, ITS has set the 5 year

rule to avoid unnecessary effort spent trying to use updated

software on old computers.

If you have any questions or need assistance with your

purchasing, please contact your SPF Grant Analyst for

more information.

Post- Award Corner

Our focus for

Post-Award

grants management

encompasses

three areas: training,

monitoring, and

reporting.

Post-Award services

provide support to

your project

throughout the life

span of your grant.

Our Post-Award

Grant Analysts

Anthony Johnson (707) 826-5164

Leslie Rodelander (707) 826-5163

Sam Barton (707) 826-5167

Page 4 of 12

The Office of Research, Economic and Community

Development, Marketing & Communications, and the HSU

Library in collaboration with the Colleges, would like to invite

students, faculty, & staff to attend the 4th Annual HSU

ideaFest!

This exciting event is an opportunity for students, staff, and

faculty to showcase their research & creative works,

highlighting the academic excellence of Humboldt State

University. For one afternoon, more than 100 presenters will

showcase everything from poster presentations to live

performances and digital exhibits. The ideaFest research

symposium will take place in the HSU Library on Friday

April 21, 2017.

Presenters also have the option to exhibit their poster online in

Humboldt Digital Scholar, or be included in the next issue of

HSU ideaFest, an annual journal for student research to be

started this year. To view the list of ‘Presenters & Abstracts’

for this year’s ideaFest, you can click here.

ideaFest! A Showcase of Research

& Creative Projects

Open Gallery Viewing

Noon to 3:00pm

Reception and Performances

3:00-5:00pm

Page 5 of 12

Dean’s Corner

Jacob Rada, Graduate candidate in Engineering

Faculty advisor: Charles Chamberlin, Co-Director, Schatz

Energy Research Center

Lauren Smith, Graduate candidate in Biological Sciences

Faculty advisor: Sharyn Marks, Professor, Biological

Sciences

Meghan Ueland, Undergraduate in History

Faculty advisor: Robert Cliver, Chair, History

Michael Vernon, Graduate candidate in Forestry &

Wildland

Faculty advisor: Rosemary Sherriff, Chair, Geography

*Results from the competition at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

will be published in our fall newsletter. Congratulations

again to these outstanding student researchers at HSU!

Ricardo Cueva, Undergraduate in Sociology

Faculty advisor: Josh Meisel, Associate Professor,

Sociology

Sean Haas, Undergraduate in Physics & Astronomy

Faculty advisor: Paola Rodriguez Hidalgo, Assistant

Professor, Physics & Astronomy

Dennis Hernandez, Graduate in Kinesiology

Faculty advisor: Young Sub Kwon, Assistant Professor,

Kinesiology & Recreation Administration

Laura Morgan, Graduate candidate in Biological Sciences

Faculty advisor: Erik Jules, Professor, Biological Sciences

Galen O’Toole, Graduate candidate in Environmental

Resources Engineering

Faculty advisor: Andrea Achilli, Assistant Professor,

Environmental Resources Engineering

Students Chosen to Represent HSU at CSU Student Research Competition

Nine HSU students were chosen to represent HSU at the CSU Student Research Competition, following competitive review

of their written summaries by the Planning Committee for Research, Scholarly and Creative Activities. These students will

make oral presentations of their research at the 31st Annual California State University Student Research Competition. This

annual statewide competition brings together outstanding student researchers from all 23 CSU campuses to compete for

research awards in discipline-based categories. The Office of Research, Economic & Community Development is proud to

underwrite the travel costs of these students:

I recently had the opportunity to visit

Washington DC with several faculty

members and had very productive

discussions with federal research funders.

Even though change in the federal budget

is a very hot topic right now, there are still

a lot of research grant funding

opportunities. These opportunities are not

just through the federal government but

also include research grants from the state,

non-profit and corporate entities.

Currently approximately 45% of our

research is from federal, 35% from state,

and 20% from non-profit/corporate.

Regardless of which college you are in I

encourage any faculty member interested

in exploring research funding to contact

us. We will help you find funding,

prepare the grant and manage the award.

In addition to outside research

opportunities, The Office of Research,

Economic, & Community Development

manages several internal competitions to

provide research money to HSU faculty.

These include Research Scholarship

Creative Activity (RSCA), Agricultural

Research Institute (ARI), and Incentives

Awards. Each of these will be run again

beginning in fall so please keep an

eye out for the announcements.

Thanks to all for doing great research

at Humboldt State University!

Page 6 of 12

FY Proposals Submitted Q3 Total

2011/12 # Proposals 146

2012/13 # Proposals 167

2013/14 # Proposals 189

2014/15 # Proposals 215

2015/16 # Proposals 175

2016/17 # Proposals 203

year over year inc/(dec) 28

2011/12 $ Proposals $ 23.8 Million

2012/13 $ Proposals $ 30.5 Million

2013/14 $ Proposals $ 39.8 Million

2014/15 $ Proposals $ 41.2 Million

2015/16 $ Proposals $ 38.2 Million

2016/17 $ Proposals $ 48.3 Million

year over year inc/(dec) $ 10.1 Million

2011/12 Proposals IDC% 12.11%

2012/13 Proposals IDC% 16.33%

2013/14 Proposals IDC% 16.90%

2014/15 Proposals IDC% 13.99%

2015/16 Proposals IDC% 14.12%

2016/17 Proposals IDC% 16.76%

year over year inc/(dec) 2.64

Metrics

Tracking data or “metrics” help to measure an organization's activities and assist with developing strategies

for ongoing improvement. At Sponsored Programs, the # of proposals and awards are tracked for various

benefits including use as a forecasting tool. Metrics assist us in anticipating increased volume of proposals

and awards to help balance increased workload. The two charts below provide year over year comparative

data from Fiscal Year 11/12 to the present. To view this metrics report in its entirety click here.

FY Awards Received Q3 Total

2011/12 # Awards 91

2012/13 # Awards 104

2013/14 # Awards 116

2014/15 # Awards 190

2015/16 # Awards 126

2016/17 # Awards 134

year over year inc/(dec) 8

2011/12 $ Awards $ 6.9 Million

2012/13 $ Awards $ 5.4 Million

2013/14 $ Awards $ 19.3 Million

2014/15 $ Awards $ 17.2 Million

2015/16 $ Awards $ 20.5 Million

2016/17 $ Awards $ 21.5 Million

year over year inc/(dec) $ 1.0 Million

2011/12 Awards IDC% 8.91%

2012/13 Awards IDC% 15.39%

2013/14 Awards IDC% 10.36%

2014/15 Awards IDC% 13.45%

2015/16 Awards IDC% 8.24%

2016/17 Awards IDC% 13.81%

year over year inc/(dec) 5.57

Highlights of the 3rd Quarter

HSU SPF routed 203 new proposals,

requesting $48.3 million in new research

funding. Of those submitted proposals, 117

(58%) were requesting $25,000 or more.

In that same time, HSU SPF has received

134 new awards, totaling $21.5 million. Of

those awards received, 68 (51%) were

$25,000 or greater.

Progress towards achieving HSU’s

Strategic Goals

Humboldt State University’s 2015-2020 Strategic

Plan outlined specific objectives for the HSU

Research Community that we have been working

towards fulfilling. Our metrics can help us track our

effectiveness towards achieving Objective 4.3:

Increase grant proposal submissions by 25% and

Increase grants over $25,000 by 30%.

Other ongoing projects like our implementation of

DocuSign will help us continue to streamline the

routing process & reduce paperwork.

Page 7 of 12

If you are researching the history of Humboldt County, it is

likely you have visited the Special Collections on the third

floor of the HSU Library. Special Collections is home to rare

photographs, maps, books, manuscripts, journals, and other

materials that document the communities and history of

Northwestern California. There you will find Special

Collections Librarian Carly Marino and a team of interns

working on projects to improve access to the historical

documents within the collection. These projects range from

historic image mapping projects to curating digital exhibits.

To support these intern digitization projects, Carly recently

received funding from the Research, Scholarship, and

Creative Activities Program (RSCA) and HSU SPF to

purchase a map scanner for scanning large documents. This

award allows for oversized materials that were previously

unscannable to be digitized and made available to any

researcher with access to the internet. Students will work

with Carly to scan historic maps of Humboldt County. With

thousands of maps in Special Collections, this project will

last several years and make a significant impact for

researchers as the digitized material becomes available.

P.I. Spotlight Carly Marino:

Library Special Collections

A large part of the Special Collections material relates to the establishment of Redwood National Park (RNP)

in 1968 and park expansion in 1978. With the 50th anniversary of RNP approaching, Carly received a

financial award through the National Park Service which supports paid internships for HSU students to

archive and digitize historic documents related to RNP. Interns participating in the Redwood National Park

Archiving Project take field trips to the RNP headquarters to tour the park archives and historically

significant locations within the park. From these experiences, students will work to organize and describe

archival materials and create exhibits viewable online and in the library. Included in the grant was funding

for a dedicated internship laboratory on the third floor of the library where interns will work on digitization

projects.

Carly’s research focuses on inspiring students to use historic artifacts in inventive and creative ways, with a

focus on student learning that incorporates new technologies to analyze and understand archival material.

These internships provide HSU students an opportunity to learn professional skills that can be applied in

both their academic and professional careers. Past interns have gone on to graduate studies in library

science, museum studies, and public history. Thanks to the support of HSU SPF, these library internships

will continue to provide hands on training to the next generation of information professionals.

Carly Marino with some of her students from fall 2016

Page 8 of 12

Front Office Corner

Our Front Office staff

acts as the first point

of contact to assist

faculty, staff, and

students.

We strive to offer

excellent customer

support to direct you

in whichever services

you may be seeking

from our office.

Our Front Office

Staff

Kacie Flynn (707) 826-5159

Andrea Barrera (707) 826-4189

Susan Brater (707) 826-5165

Travel Reimbursements The CSU travel policy states that payment of travel on behalf of others is only allowed in

the case of co-traveling (when travelers are sharing a room). Outside of that exception,

you should not be incurring travel expenses on behalf of other travelers. Each individual

should be submitting their own travel claim after they return from their trip.

An alternative to minimizing out of pocket expenses would be to have each traveler

complete a travel advance. Please be sure to submit travel advances at least two weeks

prior to your trip. For assistance completing a travel advance, please contact our front

office at hsuf@humboldt.edu or by calling (707) 826-4189.

For more information regarding payment of travel, please refer to the HSU Travel Policy

& Updates page.

Maternity/Paternity Leave for SPF

Employees

As an SPF employee, what steps do I need to take prior to going on a Maternity,

Paternity, or Disability leave? What options do I have available? How and who

do I contact to initiate those processes? All great questions!

We have created this new ‘Guidance for SPF Employees Applying for Maternity,

Paternity, & Non-Work Related Disability Leaves of Absence,’ which outlines

the process, as well as provides the appropriate contacts for each type of

requested leave.

The most important factor is being proactive. Reach out to us as soon as possible

to allow HR & Payroll enough time to help you set up your leave successfully.

Incidentals Update

Going forward you are now allowed to

claim ‘incidentals’ on all of the days that

you travel! Previously the HSU policy

stated that you were not able to claim

incidentals on the first day of your trip.

You can now claim up to $7.00/day for

expenses including fees and tips for

porters, baggage handlers and other

personal service employees. If you have

any questions, feel free to follow up

with our front office!

Page 9 of 12

New Procurement Standards and

Uniform Guidance

The new Uniform Guidance Procurement Standards (2 CFR

200.317 - 200.326) are currently set to begin on July 1, 2017.

SPF is updating its Procurement Policy in order to comply

with these new rules. Because of these new standards, the

need for formal documentation of the procurement process

may need to be expanded. Please stay tuned for an update on

this topic very soon!

Subrecipient Monitoring

As a recipient of federally funded awards, SPF must

comply with the guidelines outlined in Title 2, Code

of Federal Regulations, Part 200 (Uniform Guidance).

If your federal award contains a sub-award where a

third-party organization performs a portion of the

award’s scope of work, these regulations require sub-

recipient monitoring to begin before executing the

prime award agreement.

SPF performs a similar function on most non-

federally funded awards. SPF’s Compliance Office

will provide the monitoring required and ensure good

stewardship of these awards by:

Sending out and reviewing a completed sub-

recipient letter and questionnaire.

Ensuring the sub-recipient obtains required

audits, if applicable.

Determining whether the sub-recipient is

debarred, suspended, or excluded from federal

assistance programs.

Assessing risk posed by the sub-recipient.

Compliance Corner

The primary objective

of the HSU SPF

Compliance Office is

to provide

information, training,

and internal controls

that are needed to

meet the laws, rules,

and policies

governing sponsored

research at Humboldt

State University.

Our Compliance

Office

William Cook (707) 826-5162

Time and Effort Updates

SPF recently enacted a new process for ‘Effort Certification Statements’ to be distributed

and collected in a timelier manner. Effort Certification is required for all individuals who

work on a federally funded or federal pass-through project. The certificates are created

after-the-fact each semester and the total effort will always equal 100%. So far, this new

process has been going smoothly. We strongly encourage PIs, and any individuals working

for them, to reach out to SPF’s Compliance Officer, William Cook, if they have any

questions regarding Time and Effort.

Here are a few items that can help to make this process continue to run more smoothly:

Cost share – Please report any effort related cost share as soon as possible.

PIs with employees – If you are hiring individuals on a federally funded project

(or a federal pass-through) it is important that you mention “time and effort

reporting” to them at the time of hire.

Review for discrepancies – When you receive your certificate from SPF, please

review it for discrepancies. If there are items that do not match your records,

contact SPF’s Compliance Officer immediately.

Certify and return – Please return with signature within the 30-day timeframe.

Page 10 of 12

* Comparable Institutions are defined as having between 6,000-12,000 enrollment.

Have you ever wondered how our faculty participation, proposals, and awards compare to our peer institutions? We define our

comparable campuses in the CSU as having between 6,000-12,000 enrollment. Those CSU campuses include Bakersfield,

Channel Islands, Humboldt, Monterey Bay, San Marcos, Sonoma, and Stanislaus.

Below you’ll find a comparison of those campuses for the past five fiscal years. In the most recent fiscal year ending June 30,

2016, CSU Bakersfield and Humboldt State University submitted the highest dollar of proposals at $49 Million each. In that

same year, Humboldt State University received the highest dollar amount of awards at $26.4 Million.

SPF’s 2016 Customer Service

Survey Results

Conducted during the fall 2016 semester, HSU Faculty, Staff, and

Students were invited to participate in a short survey to share their

feedback on Sponsored Programs Services.

The survey was anonymous and participation was voluntary. The

survey questions were originally developed around the “main

categories for improvement,” as identified in the 2006 SPF survey

conducted by the Office of the President. In November of 2012,

and 2014, SPF issued the same customer service/satisfaction

survey with the objective to re-issue that survey after two years’

time to gain comparative data. Click here to view the results.

Chart displaying results from the

question, “How satisfied are you

with Pre-Award services?

Comparing CSU Research & HSU Sponsored Programs

Page 11 of 12

Perception, Action & Cognition (PAC)

The grant encourages research on topics

focused on human behavior. The purpose is

to enhance fundamental understanding of

perceptual, motor, and cognitive processes

and their interactions. Research topics

include a wide range of focuses, such as

vision, haptics, memory, reasoning,

language, and spatial cognition.

Application deadline: June 15, 2017

Click here for more information

Geophysics (PH)

This grant supports basic research in the

physics of the solid earth to explore its

composition, structure, and processes

from the Earth's surface to its deepest

interior. Topics include (but are not

limited to) seismicity, seismic wave

propagation, Earth’s thermal structure,

and geodynamics.

Application deadline: June 9, 2017

Click here for more information

Featured Funding Opportunities

Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller

Institutions

This program helps small and mid-sized

institutions improve their ability to preserve

and care for their significant humanities

collections. These may include special

collections of books, manuscripts, prints,

photographs, moving images, sound

recordings, fine art objects,

and more.

Application deadline: May 2, 2017

Click here for more information

HSU Incentives Program Winners Announced

The HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation’s Incentives Committee met and considered the proposals submitted by faculty to

the HSU SPF Faculty Research Incentives Program 2017/2018. The SPF Incentives Committee awarded the following eight

faculty members a total of $12,866 in assigned time and $24,000 in summer salary for a total Incentives Award of $36,866.

Recipients of Awards are to use their assigned time/summer salary to develop full proposals to external funding agencies or

organizations that will further HSU’s strategic goals and objectives. We look forward to working with them in the coming

months.

Bori Mazzag Mathematics Fall 2017 4 WTU’s $7,352

Jen Maguire Social Work Spring 2018 3 WTU’s $5,514

Cutcha Risling Baldy Native American Studies Summer Salary 2017 $4,000

Nicholas Perdue Geography Summer Salary 2017 $4,000

Sheila Alicea Kinesiology & Recreation Summer Salary 2017 $4,000

Andre Buchheister Fisheries Biology Summer Salary 2017 $4,000

David Gwenzi Env. Science & Management Summer Salary 2017 $4,000

Jasper Oshun Geology Summer Salary 2017 $4,000

If you were not funded this year, we do want to encourage you to re-apply for the next round of Incentives! Your Pre-Award

Specialist is available to provide feedback on how to make your incentives proposal more competitive. Another call for

applications should be distributed in fall 2018.

Travel Quick Tip: Effective January 1, 2017 the new mileage Reimbursement Rate is .535 cents per mile.

In order to avoid delays in processing, be sure to use this new rate on all your travel reimbursement requests.

Be sure to use this new rate on all your travel reimbursement requests

Page 12 of 12

OFFICE OF RESEARCH, ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

1 Harpst Street, SBS 427

Phone: 707-826-4189 Fax: 707-826-4783

http://www.humboldt.edu/hsuf/

The Office of Research wants to congratulate all of our PI’s and their

amazing Staff on their many accomplishments and notable awards this year.