Morningside University hopes to be a model for small, private colleges

Sioux City college to expand research capacity with grant from National Science Foundation

Morningside College in Sioux City hopes to become a model for small private colleges looking to expand their research capacity with the help of a $2.76 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

The five-year grant will allow the university to establish the Office of Sponsored Programs, which will employ a three-person team to coordinate and facilitate research grant applications and work.

The new department will be overseen by a director, a staff member will monitor how grant dollars are used and report after funds are distributed, and the final staff member will develop collaborative partnerships for projects with other universities, community colleges, K-12 schools and other organizations.

Brian McFarland, who will begin his new role as office director in January, said this grant support will not only help Morningside increase its research capacity, but it could also help the university set an example and help other colleges hoping to do the same.

“We think this will be a really good opportunity to use our research to not only benefit our students but also help on a larger scale,” McFarland said.

McFarland said Morningside has made a more concerted effort to seek grants for research projects over the past four years, receiving a total of about $10 million through different awards. Much of the research so far has focused on education, from new ways to teach STEM students to developing nurse practitioners and teachers for English language learners.

McFarland said that while the enthusiasm from different departments and faculty members is great and successful in terms of getting a grant, the university’s current infrastructure needs to be strengthened to handle all the work that comes after the grant is awarded, from purchasing needed supplies and equipment and managing other financial tasks to reporting to funding agencies.

McFarland said a kind of “grant-seeking culture” has spread on campus, with agriculture, aviation and other departments showing interest in finding research opportunities.

“We’re seeing more and more departments want to get involved,” McFarland said. “And so one of the goals of this is to spread this contagious interest in grants across campus and encourage it to spread to other areas.”

McFarland said students will benefit from more research opportunities, both in the teaching provided by faculty and in the research they conduct themselves. Since some of the research currently being conducted at the university focuses on different ways to teach students, instructors can bring what they learn into the classroom and provide a better experience for their classes, he said.

McFarland said that faculty members receiving grants for research also allows undergraduate students to participate, so they can develop their knowledge and skills and carry them into their future education or careers.

“If we have faculty members who receive research grants to do academic research across campus, that will have a direct benefit for students because the students themselves will have more research opportunities,” McFarland said.

This article was originally published at: Iowa Capital Posting.