Looking to connect with other faculty members with similar research interests? Check out our RAM Research Directory!

Elevate Your Grant Writing Skills!
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs invites applications to the 2026-2027 DREAM Faculty Development Program Focused on Grant Writing

 

Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education Research 2

Contributing to the WCU Teacher-Scholar model through innovative research that elevates learning

$30M

in External Grant Submission dollars in AY 2024/25

246

IRB submissions for AY 2024/25

136

Grant Funding Proposals Submitted AY 2024/25

Our Mission and What We Do

It is the mission of the West Chester University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) to facilitate, coordinate, and safeguard the institution’s research and creative activity enterprise. We enhance the university’s ability to be an educational and experiential resource for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and our surrounding community by providing:

  • Information on funding opportunities from federal, state, and private‐sector sponsors.
  • Pre-award grant proposal development and guidance, leading to grant submissions.
  • Post-award guidance to ensure compliance and best practices are followed.
  • Post-award administrative support to allow faculty to focus on their research.  
  • Resources for researchers to remain informed, compliant, and innovative.
  • Student experiential research opportunities to foster growth and development.
  • Faculty professional development opportunities.
  • Opportunities to create interdisciplinary partnerships across our campus and community.

We value our teacher-scholar model at West Chester University, where research informs teaching, and faculty, staff and students are celebrated.

WHAT WE DO

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Responsibilities

 

01 - Internal Grants Provost Research Grant (PRG) Faculty Professional Development Council (FPDC) Sustainability Research and Creative Activity Grants 02 - External Grants 70+ active current grants Pre-award submission through post- award support. 03 - Compliance Policies, guidelines, and federal regulations shared to ensure integrity and ethical decision-making in all research endeavors. 04 - Professional Development Workshops Podcasts Forums Resources and support 05 - Student Research Opportunities Student Research & Creative Activity Awards (SRCA) Research & Creative Activities Day (RCAD) Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) Spring Undergraduate Research Foundation (SURF) 06 - Faculty Fellow / Research Liaisons ORSP’s faculty fellows and research liaisons provide guidance with grant applications, IRB procedures, connecting faculty with ORSP’s services, and other research-related functions 07 - Tech Transfers / Patents / IP Identifying new technologies Protecting technologies through patents and copyrights Forming development and commercialization strategies such as marketing and licensing to existing private sector companies 08 - Events Grant Recognition Event Research & Creative Activity Day (RCAD) Research & Creative Activity Awards (SRCA) Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) kick-off and closing Spotlight on Research 09 - Data Collection & Reports Monthly external grant reports shared with university stakeholders Biennial campus-wide ORSP sponsored projects report Continuous evaluation of all grant submissions and awards Decision-making throughout the year is data informed 10 - Campus Outreach Announcements and highlights through monthly ORSP newsletter Intentional marketing for research opportunities through campus-wide divisions and offices Recognition of student and faculty research through website, PR, newsletters, and reports 11 - ORSP Committees The Research & Creative Activity Advisory Board (RCAAB) Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Institutional Review Board (IRB) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Sustainability Council Scholarly and Creative Activities (SCSCA) 12 - ORSP Partners Direct collaborations with FBS, HR, purchasing, budget managers, and deans

Who We Are

Cheryl Neale-McFall, PhD, LPC, NCC

Cheryl Neale-McFall, PhD, LPC, NCC
Associate Provost for Research and Creative Activities
CNeale-McFall@wcupa.edu
(610) 436-2432

Catherine Spaur

Catherine Spaur
Pre-Award Submission and Faculty Funding Opportunity support
CSpaur@wcupa.edu
(610) 436‐3060

 

Cara Williams

Cara Williams
Post-award Process and Policy Compliance
CWilliams@wcupa.edu
(610) 436-3064

Charles Graham

Charles Graham
Post-Award Grants Manager
CGraham@wcupa.edu
610-436-3484

 

Sue Kertis

Sue Kertis
Post-Award Grants Manager
skertis248@wcupa.edu
610-436-3056

Patricia Kennedy

Patricia Kennedy
Administrative Assistant
PKennedy@wcupa.edu

 

Jimmy John

Jimmy John
Graduate Research Assistant
JJ1055406@wcupa.edu

Sarah Lippman

Sarah Lippman
Graduate Research Assistant
slippman590@wcupa.edu

 

Heather Leaman

Heather Leaman
IRB co-Chair
hleaman@wcupa.edu

Melissa Reed

Melissa Reed
IRB co-Chair
mreed3@wcupa.edu

 

Kristen Breit

Kristen Breit
IACUC Chair
kbreit@wcupa.edu

Brittany Severino

Brittany Severino
ORSP Faculty Fellow
bseverino@wcupa.edu

 

Grant Life Cycle

GRANT LIFE CYCLE

The life cycle of a grant is divided into pre- and post-award; coordinated by two offices:
Pre-award: All ORSP
Post-award: ORSP and Finance & Business Services

Pre-Award: Find opportunities • Connect with ORSP • Read monthly ORSP Newsletter • Check GrantForward, • Connect with your college Research Liaison -> Connect with Cat Spaur in ORSP. Discuss opportunity, budget, and timelines. -> Complete InfoReady form -> Work with ORSP to submit grant application -> Wait for the Decision -> Funded?? -> if no -> Work with your college Research liaison and Catherine Spaur to determine other potential funding opportunities and collaborations. -> if yes -> POST AWARD Federal: • Budget confirmed/approved → FBS creates cost center → line-item budget added to SAP • Cara with ORSP sets up Post-award meeting Non-Federal: (this process takes up to 8 weeks) • ORSP → legal review → FBS for signature • If > $20K. → 0AG reviews • Complete Post-award meeting -> After meeting: PI works with Post-award Grants Manager and FBS with questions/changes -> Monthly PI check-ins Questions about Hires, spend-down. POs, track expenditures. timelines. reports. etc. are discussed. -> Close-out (near end): Reconcile expenses → FBS submits final financial report → PI submits outcome report

 

RAM Research Directory
GrantFoward
ORSP Newsletter
Agreement to Borrow Easels and/or Boards

 

Introducing the NEW Student Research Resource Hubs – a page dedicated to resources across campus to support your research and creative activity endeavors. Check out the separate hubs for our WCU Undergraduate and Graduate Students.

Graduate Research Hub

Undergraduate Research Hub

 

 

Announcements

  • Research & Creative Activity Day

    Thank you to our campus community for an outstanding Research and Creative Activity Day. It is always a delight to come together and celebrate the research accomplishments of West Chester University's students, faculty, and staff. Congratulations to the 2025 awardees and to all of the presenters! We applaud your valuable contributions to research and creative activity.

    RCAD
    RCAD
    RCAD
  • SURI Kick-Off Event

    The Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) is a wonderful opportunity for undergraduate students and faculty mentors to connect. Thank you to the 2025 SURI cohort, for such a fantastic SURI Kick-Off Event. We look forward to seeing the projects that will be developed over the summer!

    suri2
    suri1
    suri3
  • WCU Sponsored Programs Research Report

    Check out our 2023-2024 WCU Sponsored Programs Research Report where we feature a handful of our amazing faculty, staff, and students who have participated in various grant projects, research, and creative activities over the past academic year.

 

 

Experiential Learning Survey

All enrolled students were asked to participate in an Experiential Learning Survey & were asked the question:

Looking back, what was the highlight of your experiential learning – what impacted you the most?

“How research is a vital key in our lives and studies.”

“Having a close relationship with faculty that allowed me to learn firsthand how to conduct research at the graduate level.”

“I learn most when doing hands on activities, this research experience has taught me so much because I am actually collecting and analyzing data on my own. As a person who wants to go into research in the future, this is a very important skill to have. Learning this in a class is one thing, but actually doing a project of my own (with guidance from my advisor) has helped me develop these skills in a unique way.”

“I enjoy being able to participate in research that relates to my passions.”

“I believe engaging in research with my professor help shaped who I am. They have pushed me past my boundaries to make me stronger in my field. From that experience, I feel like I have created a direct career goal and passion.”

“Research impacted me the most. I have mentors and peers who share the same interests and bringing academia to life was a life-changing opportunity.”

 

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