The Office of Sponsored Programs' First Recognition Reception

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) hosted our first Recognition Reception on September 2, 2016 to honor faculty and staff involved in the pursuit of external funding during fiscal year 2016, (7/01/2015 – 6/30/2016). The program began with remarks from invited speakers about the importance of sponsored programs to the programming vitality of the university and to individual careers. Dr. A. Jerry Benson, Dr. Yvonne Harris, Dr. Cynthia Bauerle, Dr. Rhonda Zingraff, and Dr. Olga Pierrakos shared their messages about the broader impacts sponsored programs have beyond James Madison University to our local community and the region and also for our nation and the world. 

Following these speakers, Tamara Hatch, Interim Director and Liz Webb, Grants Specialist - OSP, Deans and Department Heads recognized Principal Investigators for an array of accomplishments. Light-hearted awards were presented such as the “Thinking Ahead” award that honored Dr. Nathan Wright, Assistant Professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, for submitting his proposal materials to the National Institutes of Health 46 days before the sponsor deadline. The OSP also honored ten Principal Investigators from a variety of disciplines for exemplary projects, including Ms. Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley, Coordinator of the Children and Youth Services at the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services, who received the “Community Impact” award for several projects that fulfill the IIHHS mission of connecting our campus with communities through innovative programs that advance the quality of life. 

The goal of this Reception was to acknowledge the hard work of Principal Investigators, their teams and administrative support staff put forward to seek, secure and manage external funding at JMU as well as to encourage faculty to continue to pursue external funding to develop and advance their academic and scholarly endeavors which foster student learning, innovative discovery and advancement for the university, local, regional, state, national, and global communities.

The Office of Sponsored Programs will strive to host a Recognition Reception each year to again acknowledge the hard work that is involved in the pursuit of external funding. If you have not provided your input about this year's Reception please consider taking our survey to help us refine the program for the coming year. 

Pictured above Drs. Benson and Harris present Dr. Joanne Gabbin with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her years of work with the Furious Flower Poetry Center and the Honors Program. Click here to see the full gallery of photos from the reception! For a related article about Dr. Gabbin's Lifetime Achievement Award, view the Furious Flower Poetry Center's article here: http://www.jmu.edu/stories/furiousflower/2016/gabbin-osp-lifetime-achievement.shtml