Resources & Information for EKU Faculty, Staff, and Students

EKU Logo
EKU Logo
eku.edu OneLogin Search

University-Funded Scholarship

The UFS program has been redesigned for FY2026 following a significant research investment by EKU. Please carefully review the updated information below.

Overview

Eastern Kentucky University, through the Office of Sponsored Programs & Research Administration, provides support for faculty and professional librarians to engage in research and creative activities. It is important to note that the goal of this program is to help advance research so that it will be more competitive for future external funding opportunities. University-Funded Scholarship (UFS) funding is competitively awarded based on the review and recommendation of the University Research Committee (URC). The URC is an interdisciplinary committee of faculty with representation from all colleges.

The UFS program’s funding priorities include support for tenure-track faculty in establishing a research program as the basis for future external funding requests, and support for faculty who have maintained a productive research program and have continually sought external funding for their research.

UFS awards are intended to provide seed funding for faculty preparing an application for an external research grant. Funding may be requested to support student workers as research assistants, purchase equipment and supplies needed for the research, cover travel expenses associated with the research, or reassigned time or summer salary in accordance with the program guidelines. Faculty may request up to $15,000 for the Major Awards, and up to $3,000 for the Mini Awards.

The 2025/2026 Academic Year submission deadline is Friday, October 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM.

To apply, please go to InfoReady to complete the application for the Major Award or the Mini Award.

Internal Funding Reporting Forms

Budget Revision Requests
Budget Revisions may be requested for University-Funded Scholarship (UFS) awards online. An updated copy of the Detailed Budget Form must be attached.

Project Extension Requests
In the event of extenuating circumstances that prevent a funded faculty member from completing a funded project during the approved period of support, a one-time extension may be requested online. In no case will additional funding be made available to support project completion. The request must be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the award expiration date. No exceptions can be made for late requests.

Final Report
A Final Report is form is due within 30 days of the completion date for all UFS awards. To submit your report, please follow the steps below:

  • Log in to your InfoReady Review account using your EKU credentials (email address and password).
  • Click the Applications link from the top menu bar.
  • Select the project title for your award, and click on the Progress Report button in the far right column.
  • Complete the information fields and attach copies of any publications or presentations.
  • Click the Finalize button to submit your report. This button is located just above the attachment fields.

Committee Members

The University Research Committee (URC) is charged with reviewing applications and making funding decisions for the University-Funded Scholarship program. The committee is composed of full-time faculty representing each academic college. Members are appointed for three-year terms (or shorter if replacing a member prior to term expiration).

Terms Expiring in 2026:
Kerem Kalkan, CLASS
Laurie Larkin, CHS
Tahsin Huq, CoB
Shijin Kozhumal, CJSMS

Terms Expiring in 2027:
Brian Simpkins, CJSMS
Melinda Moore, CLASS
Jiyeon Park, CEAHS
Jason Fry, CSTEM

Terms Expiring in 2028:
John Harter, COB
Eric Fuchs, CHS
Jade Robinson, CEAHS
Smita Joshi, CSTEM

Ex-Officio Non-Voting Chair:
Ryan Baggett, Dean of Graduate Education & Research Administration
Anne Cizmar, Associate Dean of Research Administration

Recent University-Funded Scholarship Awards

2024-2025 Awards:

  • Calie, Pat (Biological Sciences). Determination of fungal gene content in Starship elements. $4,996.
  • Dash, Prosanta (Agriculture). Particle Film Technology: Alternative to Chemical Pesticides for Controlling European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hubner) and Enhancing Bell Pepper Yields. $5,000.
  • Makecha, Radhika (Psychology). Psychology Conservation Education Using Elephant Cognition: A Follow Up (Dissemination Support). $500.
  • Moser, Rachel (Art and Design). Just as it Strikes You. $3,950.

2023-2024 Awards:

  • Brisman, Avi (Justice Studies). Fact and Fiction in J.G. Ballard’s Climate Change Novels. $7,060.
  • Dodd, Luke (Biological Sciences). Dissemination Support: Attempted Predation of Live-captured Neotoma magister (Allegheny Woodrat) by Strix varia (Barred Owl) and Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk) in Kentucky. $216.
  • Green, Amanda (Language & Cultural Studies, Anthropology, and Sociology) and Abbigail Hickey (Applied Human Sciences). EKU Food Studies Lab. $928.
  • Mott, Cy (Biological Sciences). Carry-over effects of predation risk on aposematic coloration in juvenile salamanders. $1,998.

2022-2023 Awards:

  • Anyanwu, Ogechi (History, Philosophy and Religious Studies). Unhealed Wounds: The Nigerian Civil War and the Mbano Experience in Southeastern Nigeria, 1967-1970. $5,711
  • Kenealy, Jessica (Agriculture) Off the Beaten Path: A first glance at the feral horses of Appalachia and their intestinal parasites. $6,789.
  • Rowe, Laura (Chemistry). Probing Microbial Diversity in Extremophile Environments. $6,392.
  • Saulnier, Stephanie and Stevenson, Erin (Social Work). Social Connectedness and Interpersonal Skills Pilot Project. $3,702.
  • Simpkins, Brian and Napier, Trenia (Safety and Security) Countering Mis-, Dis-, and Malinformation. $5,850.
  • Spira, Geela (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy). Daily life experiences of Tanzanian people with deafness viewed with an occupational justice lens in comparison to the lived experiences of occupational science and occupational therapy students. $1,502.
  • Su, Lixun (College of Business – Marketing). Nurturing Verses Natural Meaning of Colors. $1,243.
    White, John (Physics, Geosciences, and Astronomy). Volcanic History of Mount Locke, MacDonald Observatory (Davis County), Texas. $1,514.
  • Zyzak, Li Li (Chemistry). Improving the Flavor of Plant-Based Hamburgers Through Mechanistic Studies. $7,426.

2021-2022 Awards:

  • Dodd, Luke (Biological Sciences). Occupancy of Allegheny Woodrat and Incidence of Raccoon Roundworm along the Pine Mountain Wildlands Corridor. $9,635.
  • Endonino, Jon (Languages & Cultures, Anthropology, and Sociology). EKU Archaeology Field School Blood Protein Residue Analysis and Radiocarbon Dating. $3,000.
  • Jarvis, Thomas (Physics, Geosciences, and Astronomy). Laser Surface Processing of Wood for Food Industry Applications. $9,646.
  • Makecha, Radhika and Nakai, Yoshie (Psychology). Conservation Education Using Elephant Cognition. $7,450.
    Mott, Cy (Biological Sciences). Characterizing optimal within-species body size variation in an aquatic predator. $2,996.
  • Park, Jiyeon and Gremp, Michelle (Learning, Teaching, and Educational Leadership). Integrating Assistive and Instructional Technology into Higher Education. $10,000.
  • Peters, Valerie (Biological Sciences). Testing priority plant species in tropical pollinator community assembly. $9,960.
  • Stevenson, Erin (Social Work). Resilience, Social Support, and Academic Achievement Among First-generation College Students. $2,999.

2020-2021 Awards:

  • Brown, David (Biological Sciences). Comparison of drumming Ruffed Grouse detection probabilities between human observers and autonomous recording units. $2,954.
  • Brown, Gary and Marion, Jason (Environmental Health Science). Sunburn Prevention and Sun Protection Habits and Attitudes among Lifeguards. $1,000.
  • Bundy, Myra Beth (Psychology). Assessment of the Effect of Two Different Reinforcement Schedules on Participation in a Middle/High School Virtual Mentoring Program for Students of Color. $3,000.
  • Fleischer, Anne (Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy). Online Cancer-Related Fatigue Management. $7,466.
  • Fry, Jason (Physics and Astronomy). A Neutron Detector Array for Time Reversal Experiments. $7,657.
    Hayes, David (Biological Sciences). Impacts of Bourbon Distillation Activities on Crayfish Gut Microbial Communities. $2,960.
  • Kelley, Tricia and Cogdill, Chad (Communication). The Hoax Media Project. $2,601.
  • Kenealy, Jessica (Agriculture). Reviving a tradition: Optimization of the larval culture method for diagnosis of Strongylus vulgaris. $2,989.
  • Page, Christen (Communication Disorders). Student Clinicians’ Views of Telepractice and In-person Service Delivery. $2,972.
  • Richter, Stephen (Biological Sciences). Population dynamics and feeding ecology of copperheads across varying habitat and environmental conditions. $2,981.
  • Su, Lixun (Management, Marketing & International Business). How does culture keep consumers vulnerable? $3,000.
  • Szekely, Ilona (Art and Design). Making and Teaching Art During the Pandemic. $2,935.
  • Tran, Cynthia (Chemistry). Face and Fire: Improving the Collection of Ignitable Liquid Residues using Activated Charcoal Face Peels. $3,000.
  • Watson, Kelly (Geosciences). Assessing the health and diversity of the EKU urban community forest. $2,903.
  • White, John (Geosciences). High-resolution 40Ar/39Ar chronostratigraphy of the Montagna Grande Shield Volcano, Pantelleria (Sicily Channel), Italy. $3,000.