The Office of Sponsored Program and Research Development

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Development (OSP/RD)coordinates Mary Baldwin College’s program to support undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity (URSC).  We work with faculty, staff, and students to enhance research efforts, spur academic program innovation, and provide for curricular development in all disciplines. Our goals are to assist Mary Baldwin College faculty to develop their scholarly and creative interests and encourage a climate in which students are actively engaged in the pursuit of new knowledge. OSP/RD was established in 2002 with funding from the National Institutes of Health Extramural Associates Program . The Office exists to support, not direct, scholarly activity and subscribes to the principles of academic freedom outlined in the Faculty Handbook.

We distribute information about potential funding sources; assist faculty to develop projects, prepare proposals, and report the results of their work; negotiate grants and contracts; and oversee federal research compliance and project monitoring requirements.

In addition, we help to organize and sponsor efforts that encourage and reward undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity, including the annual Library Research Award, the Capstone Festival of senior projects, and the Research Initiative Fund. The Research Initiative Fund provides small grants to faculty for pilot projects that have the potential to lead to long-term, sustainable programs involving students in research, scholarship, and creative activity.

For information about proposal clearance and submission procedures, see the Proposal Preparation and Submission and Research Compliance sections of this Web site. 

Contact Information

We are located in Rooms 225-226 Rose Terrace, at the corner of Academy Street and North Market Street , behind Wenger Hall. Regular office hours are:

• Lydia J. Petersson
  Director of Sponsored Programs and Research Development
  (x7235, lpeterss@mbc.edu)
• TBD
  Assistant Director of Sponsored Programs and Research Development
  (x7235)
• Members of the Committee on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (CRSC) are also key participants in program efforts.