Bradley University Receives Prestigious $1.9 Million NSF Grant

Bradley University has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation totaling more than $1.9 million (Award # 2347159). This grant will fund Bradley University’s Partnerships for Enhancing ERI Research (PEER) through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). OSP supports faculty and staff seeking external funding to conduct research, scholarship, creative work, curricular and pedagogical initiatives, and educational outreach.

This award will immediately strengthen OSP’s capacity, in turn increasing grant-seeking support across the university. The additional resources will provide the support necessary to enhance research capabilities, foster collaboration across disciplines, and accelerate the pace of discovery. 

The project team will accomplish three key objectives: enhance the function of OSP through tailored investments in human capital and training, stimulate a campus culture that encourages and celebrates research and grant seeking, and research, evaluate, and disseminate results on program effectiveness.

Brad Andersh, Ph.D. is the Director of Bradley’s Office of Sponsored Programs. He will serve as principal investigator for this program, and Jenny Gruening Burge, Ph.D., is serving as the co-principal investigator. 

“We are truly humbled that the NSF recognized Bradley University's tremendous potential and invested heavily in this project,” remarked Dr. Andersh. “While significant work will need to be done to achieve the project's ambitious goals, we are confident that by working together, we will see the intended outcomes and position ourselves for an even more productive future.” 

“The NSF grant will serve as a catalyst for transforming our grant application and research enterprise, enabling us to reach new heights of excellence and impact,” said Stephen Standifird, President, Bradley University. “This funding will empower our faculty and students to pursue groundbreaking research initiatives that address some of the most pressing challenges facing our society today.” 

As a result of this five-year project, Bradley hopes to see measurable increases in the number and quality of grant proposals submitted by university employees, the number of publications generated by research-active faculty, and the number of students involved in collaborative research. 

For more information on the award and the National Science Foundation, please visit the NSW’s award abstract page.

–Libby Derry