Clemson University
AC-10: Support for Research

R-Initiatives Internal Funding Program: Beginning Spring Semester FY 2017, Clemson University’s Division of Research launched a series of internal funding programs designed to strengthen and encourage faculty research in the six innovation clusters, one of which is “sustainable environments.”

Funding is available through annual competitions in six programs:
1. Clemson Support for Early Exploration and Development (CU SEED) Grant Program provides two tiers of funding support to eligible Clemson faculty in either the initiation of research activities or the completion of a scholarly project or product. Twenty-nine (29) awards were made since the program’s launch in 2017.
2. Clemson Faculty Strategic University Challenge for Competitive Excellence and Expertise in Discovery and Scholarship (SUCCEEDS) is a competitive internal funding initiative positioning interdisciplinary faculty teams to successfully compete for significant external funding ($1.5 M or more) that will enhance the stature and distinction of the University in all key areas of research, scholarship, and creative activities at Clemson University. Five (5) proposal teams received awards since the program’s launch in 2017.
3. The Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Program provides financial support from the Division of Research to Clemson University researchers for the purchase or replacement of major research equipment or an upgrade of major research equipment that will likely impact funding, scholarship and research productivity, and the probability of increased extramural funding. Five (5) MRI awards were made since the 2017 program launch.
4. The Clemson Research Fellows program expands Clemson University’s research capacity by providing grants to assist regular faculty, academic departments, colleges, centers, and institutes in the hiring and training of qualified new research faculty and postdoctoral researchers. Two (2) project teams received Fellows awards in 2017. Current competition is underway at this writing.
5. The National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers (NSF ERC) internal program awards small grants to eligible Clemson University faculty teams to assist in the pursuit of funding from the NSF ERC program. Competition not yet scheduled.
6. The Clemson University Doctoral Dissertation Completion Grants, a collaborative effort between the Offices of the Vice President for Research and the Dean of the Graduate School, are intended to decrease time to degree and to support higher quality outcomes among students nearing graduation where relatively modest resources will make a large difference. Thirty-five (35) students received awards for degree completion by August 2018.

Smart State Program – “The South Carolina SmartState Program serves the public interest by creating incentives for the state’s research universities, in cooperation with other institutions of higher education in the state, to raise capital from non-state sources to fund endowments for specialized research professorships. These professorships in turn serve as the nucleus for unique, university based research centers which cultivate critical, public-private industrial partnerships, expand the state’s knowledge base, create well-paying jobs, enhance economic opportunities, and improve the quality of life for the people of South Carolina.” – 2016/2017 Annual Report. Dr. Robert Baldwin is the Smart State Endowed Chair in Urban Ecology and Restoration; a search is underway to fill the Thomas F. Hash ’69 Endowed Chair in Sustainable Development.

Promotion and tenure policies are college-dependent, however the ClemsonForward strategic planning process had as a goal to include multidisciplinary research and scholarship in P&T decisions.

Cooper Library’s research services includes subject matter librarians assigned by academic department, but cross-disciplinary assistance is available through a collaboration of librarians. As many departments are interdisciplinary in nature, the subject librarians are boundary spanners.