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TO: ALL FACULTY

FROM: ANDREW MEYERS, VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH

SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS EXTERNAL FUNDING MENTORS

As part of our ongoing commitment to support and strengthen faculty research programs and increase externally funded research at the University of Memphis, I am pleased to announce a new faculty research mentoring initiative.  This effort is designed to complement existing educational offerings covering the basics of grant seeking and University research guidelines and procedures; our planned, annual grantsmanship course for faculty; and our upcoming series on working with specific funding agencies.

We are fortunate that a number of our most experienced and successful faculty from a wide range of disciplines have agreed to volunteer their time and talents in support of this effort. In order to be respectful of their time, faculty interested in being paired with a mentor should contact my office (Vice Provost for Research) at x2590 before initiating contact with a possible mentor. The Research team will help you define your interests and needs and then make an appropriate mentor match or direct you to other campus resources that will meet your needs.

If you are paired with a mentor, here's what you can expect:

• Practical advice and tips based on personal experiences working with specific funding sources and program officers

• Review, discussion, and/or comments on proposal drafts or referral to an established reading group in your field

• Help making sense of reviewer comments and panel scores to determine if a second submission is appropriate

• Opportunities for additional on and off-campus networking

If you are ready to ramp up your research activity and increase your odds of success, I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. For a list of faculty research mentors and brief biographical information, click here.