COE Research Funding Reaches New High of $18.04 Million

The College of Education's external research funding reached a record $18.04 million during the 2004 fiscal year, a 12 percent increase from last year's $15.8 million.

“We are extremely pleased with the continued growth in our external research funding,” said Louis A. Castenell, Jr., dean of the college. “What's really impressive is that nearly 100 of our faculty members were involved in submitting proposals to attain these grants. That reflects on how strongly focused our faculty is in pursuing research.”

The College has more than doubled its external research funding over the last several years since receiving $8.4 million in FY 1999. It received $17.9 million in 2002, $17.08 million in 2001, and $17.2 million in 2000.

The funding comes from a wide variety of public and private sources including the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services, U.S. Department of Education, National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, and the College Board.

In addition, three College of Education faculty members received prestigious Spencer Foundations grants over the past year including:

$505,000 award for a study titled, African-American Adolescents in a Black Suburb in the U.S. South: A Social Study of Schooling, Identity, and Achievement, led by Jerome Morris, an associate professor of social foundations of education and a research fellow at UGA's Institute for Behavorial Research;
$318,775 award for “A Freed People's Education: Learners, Classrooms, and Teachers,” a historical study of the formal education of freed slaves in the American South between 1861-75, directed by Ronald Butchart, a professor of social studies education; and a
$55,000 National Academy/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship to Elizabeth DeBray, an assistant professor of educational leadership, for a study titled, Education Interest Groups and Congress: Using an Advocacy Coalition Framework to Investigate Policy Change.

Some of the College's ongoing major grants include:

$10.3 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation to create the Center for Proficiency in Teaching Mathematics to improve the mathematical proficiency of both new teachers and those already in the field. Regents Professor in mathematics education Jeremy Kilpatrick and James Wilson, professor of mathematics education, are co-principal investigators.
$6.49 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program (GSTEP) to improve beginning teachers' content, pedagogical and technological knowledge and skills.
$5.5 million, five-year U.S. Department of Education grant for “ Best Practices - Teacher Preparation - Technology: Connections That Enhance Children's Literacy Acquisition and Reading Achievement” to Linda Labbo, an associate professor of reading education.
$5.3 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant (of $34.6 million awarded statewide) for the Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) to improve student achievement in northeast Georgia for grades P-12. Michael Padilla, professor emeritus, is the principal investigator.
$2.4 million, five-year “Transition to Teach” grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Special Education Training on the Web: Certification, Undergraduate, and Mentoring (SPECTRUM) to develop a Web-based program to help increase the number of undergraduate students, paraprofessionals and mid-career professionals become certified special education teachers. Co-principal investigators include John Langone, professor and head of the department of communication sciences and special education, Alicia Davis, a faculty member in special education and Kevin Ayres, an instructor in special education.
$1.3 million, three-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for “ WAGES: Workplace Activity by Employee Goal Setting ,” a project to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week physical activity program in a study involving 1,600 male and female employees in 16 worksites of The Home Depot, Inc. The UGA team, led by Rod Dishman , a professor of exercise science, includes co-principal investigators David DeJoy, professor and Mark Wilson, associate professor, both of health promotion and behavior in the new College of Public Health, and Bob Vandenberg, a professor of management in the Terry College of Business.
$1.07 million, five-year National Institutes of Health grant for “Preschool Stuttering: Measurement, Treatment and Recovery,” to Anne Cordes Bothe, an associate professor in communications sciences and special education.

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

WRITER: Michael Childs, 706/542-5889, mdchilds@uga.edu
CONTACT: Karen Watkins, 706/542-4355, kwatkins@uga.edu