Universities operate as independent entities in many cases, but occasionally there is collaboration; for UAPB and Arkansas Tech University, that connection between the two was sufficient to attract an $800,000 grant.
The money came from the United States National Science Foundation and was given to the schools as part of an initiative to increase research in their individual areas.
Georgeanna Wright, University Honors director and assistant professor at ATU, said the project is aimed at tailoring research with opportunities available in their regions in a way that will assist those areas in the form of bolstering what the private sector is doing.
“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 (and) building partnerships that better meet employer needs,” said Wright.
The program will lean into expanding jobs focused on science, technology, engineering and math in a way that stops the “brain drain” that happens when there are no jobs for that segment of the population.
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“This work will enhance institutional research infrastructure to secure competitive funding and conduct impactful research at both ATU and UAPB,” Wright said.
The grant money was split with each institution receiving $400,000, with funding for the project made available through the NSF Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity program.
In a small but meaningful way, this targeted grant is seeking to take the academic excellence of two universities and aim it directly at the work being done in a way to capitalize on that work and put smart people to work in meaningful careers.
For UAPB’s purposes, the school as a Land-grant institution has been doing this kind of outreach and work for decades, particularly in the Delta, where government money has been spent to determine the causes of poverty and then to find solutions for those problems. Consequently, this grant fits neatly into what UAPB knows best. The exciting part will be in seeing the results.