In the last fiscal year (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016), HSU’s Sponsored Programs Foundation helped make a big impact on campus research and projects. By the end of the most recent fiscal year, the foundation helped 110 researchers lead 407 active grant projects, with a total value of $68.8 million. HSU received $26.4 million in new awards, a $3.5 million increase over the prior fiscal year.
In that same year, the foundation handled 245 proposals for funding, while processing more than 160 new awards. In fall, the foundation announced it was distributing more than $1 million to faculty, staff, and departments this year aimed at helping the campus seek out, apply for, and win more grant awards.
The Sponsored Programs Foundation is an important part of HSU’s Office of Research. Since its incorporation in 1952, the Sponsored Programs Foundation has administered nearly all of HSU’s externally funded grants and contracts while also managing proposals to external funding agencies on behalf of the University. Recent major grants the foundation has worked on include the $1.87 million Federal TriO grant, $4 million in grants to study the impact of Marine Protected Areas, and a $5.8 million grant to investigate the renewable energy potential of biomass. The foundation also assists in coordinating HSU's entries to the annual CSU Research Competition and the annual HSU IdeaFest Research Poster Symposium.
Students benefit greatly from the foundation’s work. Last year alone, 327 students were involved in research projects, benefiting from the hands-on learning experiences and more than $1.2 million in wages and scholarships. All told, those students completed over 69,000 hours of work on research projects.
Faculty research was boosted by the foundation too: 551 faculty and staff members were paid more than $7.4 million to carry out work funded by grants.