Faculty members from Arkansas Tech University and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff have collaborated to earn $800,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop the Bolstering University Infrastructure for Leading Development in Research (BUILD) initiative.
BUILD endeavors to leverage the roles that ATU and UAPB play in rural economic development within their immediate service areas by improving their institutional positions to participate in Arkansas’ statewide research ecosystem. Each institution will receive a $400,000 award.
The successful application for and the forthcoming implementation of the grant is being led by Dr. Georgeanna Wright, University Honors director and assistant professor of health informatics at ATU. She is Arkansas Tech’s principal investigator for BUILD. Dr. Sarah Gordon, former dean of the ATU Graduate College, and Janet Wood, ATU director of research and sponsored programs, are ATU’s co-principal investigators on the project.
Dr. Zeeshan Habeeb, UAPB associate professor of chemistry, serves as UAPB’s principal investigator for BUILD. Dr. Emad Badradeen, UAPB research assistant professor, and Dr. David Fernandez, interim dean of the UAPB Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, are co-principal investigators.
“Through this project, these universities will each grow research capacity by aligning faculty research with regional partnership opportunities, expanding existing partnerships that currently depend on individual faculty into more sustainable collaborations, building partnerships that better meet employer needs and fully leverage university capabilities and addressing the regional brain drain due to underemployed or relocation of STEM talent,” said Wright. “BUILD aims to create a robust research development enterprise, leading to a revitalized rural economic ecosystem, inclusive STEM workforce growth and strengthened regional economic competitiveness.”
BUILD will use gap analysis, program and project evaluation and faculty/staff shared governance to improve and implement policies and procedures to build sustainable partnerships with regional industry.
“This work will enhance institutional research infrastructure to secure competitive funding and conduct impactful research at both ATU and UAPB,” said Wright.
Funding for the BUILD initiative was made available through the NSF Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) program.
Wright expressed appreciation to Jennifer Fowler, director of the Arkansas National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), along with SURGE Arkansas, for their assistance in helping the BUILD team obtain the $800,000 in grant funding.