The Volante 02.19.14

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W E D N E S D AY

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Keeping up with you.

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Students, faculty strive for notoriety Research at USD reaching for ‘emerging areas,’ but requires more external funding Megan Card

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Low grant money, research's relationship to job creation and undergraduate participation were topics of discussion at USD's President's Research Rountable.

TOTAL FEDERAL AGENCY FUNDING

What is external funding?

Megan.Card@coyotes.usd.edu

Funding for research and creative work at USD can come from external sources like government agencies, private corporate partners and foundations, as well as internal sources.

Since the University of South Dakota is considered “small” compared to other research university standards, the fight to compete nationally must be through emerging research fields and more external funding, said Vice President of Research Laura Jenski. The state of USD’s research and creative activities was brought to the forefront last week during the President’s Research Roundtable, where low grant money, research’s relationship to job creation and undergraduate participation became prime points of discussion. Following the event, Jenski said doubling the amount of external funding awarded for university research, which totaled slightly more than $25 million the last fiscal year, is not an unrealistic goal. Doubling the grants and awards, she said, would put USD mid-range of its peer institutions, which are similar in size, programs and location. USD received $5.2 million less in federal awards during fiscal year 2013, according to the university’s Annual Report on Externally Sponsored Programs. For the second year in a row, award dollars dropped, and this lack of funding was not offset by other awards received in

Below are rankings of peer institutions in regard to their federal agency funding from fiscal-year 2011. Some of the federal agencies include the United States Department of Defense, United States Department of Education and United States Department of Agriculture. SOURCE: University of South Dakota's annual report on externally sponsored programs

University of Rhode Island RANK

1

SOURCE: The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

new areas or from new federal programs. The total request for grants, while higher in fiscal year 2013 than the previous two, was inflated by nearly $38 million proposed for the Governor’s Research Center competitions and the South Dakota Research and Innovation Center. The report concluded, “we were essentially competing against ourselves (for this funding).” One way to change this is by alerting faculty as to the range of external funding options available to them to apply for their projects, Jenski said. A behavioral scientist may look for only funding with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, but what they might not be aware of is federal agencies like the Department of Defense or

16,250

RANK

2

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

11,247

Nathan Ellenbecker

The University of South Dakota has been slated to receive state funds that will improve and maintain campus buildings. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard’s fiscal-year 2015 budget announced a new plan for allocating money toward USD’s maintenance and repair fund. The budget labels maintenance and repair as historically underfunded on South Dakota public college campuses. The FY 2015 budget is the first of a four-year plan to increase funding to two percent of replacement values DAUGAARD of buildings owned by the South Dakota Board of Regents. USD will also receive $70 million in a 10-year deferred maintenance, funds interimProvost Kurt Hackemer called “huge.” “People will donate money to build a new building,” Hackemer said. “People are far less interested in maintenance money, but buildings get old.” Hackemer said the additional money to the buildings is especially important at USD. The renovations qualify under maintenance and repair, and work is set to begin after the spring semester concludes. Despite all the new buildings,

such as the Muenster University Center or Beacom School of Business, the estimated average building age at USD is 40 years. “It’s really important for the long-term physical health of the university that we get those kinds of funds,” Hackemer said. Buildings have fallen to states of disrepair in the past, including Old Main, which was once closed for 20 years because there were no funds for repair, he said. Maintaining buildings presents a number of unique situations for the university’s Operations and Maintenance Department, and each problem has a specific issue to address, Roberta Ambur, vice-president of Information and Technology, said. “It can be anything from a plugged toilet, to heat not working, a failed pump etc.,” Ambur said. “Each situation is typically different.” The concerns among older buildings correlates with a recent study of the university’s space efficiencies by JBA 1ncorporated, which advised the university to tear down buildings and add onto others, Ambur said. Sophomore Kerstin Tuttle said maintenance and repair goes beyond tearing down buildings and major projects. “I wouldn’t be upset to see more things such as water fountains and hand dryers in bathrooms so we don’t have to deal with excess trash,” Tuttle SEE BUILDINGS, PAGE A6

$78,303

TOTAL FUNDING

$59,800

University of Nevada-Reno RANK

3

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

18,227

TOTAL FUNDING

$57,220

University of North Dakota RANK

4

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

15,250

TOTAL FUNDING

$54,058

University of Texas Dallas RANK

5

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

18,972

TOTAL FUNDING

$33,216

Idaho State University RANK

6

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

14,209

TOTAL FUNDING

$17,149

University of South Dakota

7

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

10,235

Daugaard allocates $70 million in USD campus preservation Nathan.Ellenbecker@coyotes.usd.edu

TOTAL FUNDING

University of Maine

RANK SEE RESEARCH, PAGE A6

TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

TOTAL FUNDING

$14,490

Counseling Center sees increase in treatments Braley Dodson

Braley.Dodson@coyotes.usd.edu

MALACHI PETERSEN I THE VOLANTE

Students eat dinner in the new commons located in the Muenster University Center. Papa John's, moving into North Complex, would be the fourth national food franchise to come to campus since the MUC expansion.

than any of the options we have now," she said. "I just wish we would have gotten a Subway or something like that." Papa John's would become the fourth national food franchise to come to USD in 2014 — behind Qdoba, Chickfil-A and Einstein Bros. Bagels. "I'm sure they are looking at how all the other national brands are doing too," Grieve said. Grieve said additional meetings regarding the Papa John's franchise are being held this week. "This is just such an exciting time with a lot

The Student Counseling Center is seeing twice as many students a week than five years ago, with the severity of students' cases also increasing. Debra Brockberg, coordinator of Mental Health Services, said the SCC saw an average of 50-60 students a week in 2009, and now sees an average of 90-120 per week. Last spring, the center saw a new maximum of 160 students around midterm. Brockberg said the increase is accredited to a change in attitudes surrounding counseling. “I think some of that has to do with normalizing counseling,” Brockberg said. To normalize counseling, the center has recently updated its website and created a pamphlet to more easily explain the organization's services. Brockberg said the center has encouraged students who have had counseling to be open to talking about their counseling experiences at the University of South Dakota. Tours for prospective students often go past the Cook House, the location of the center, which Brockberg said helps break the

SEE PIZZA, PAGE A7

SEE COUNSELING, PAGE A8

Plans for Papa John's franchise in North Complex in the works Austin Ashlock

Austin.Ashlock@coyotes.usd.edu

Plans to bring national pizza franchise Papa John's to the University of South Dakota are close to finalizing Dean of Students Kim Grieve said. "Papa John's has been on the list since we talked to Qdoba, Chick-fil-A and Einstein's, but it’s been delayed a bit. As far as I know, it will be opening in the fall," Grieve said. The franchise was originally slated to open by April, but with the end of the semester and students leaving in May, it didn't make much sense Grieve said. Michelson-Beede community adviser

Shannon Billie said she was told in August 2013 that the Papa John's would be placed in the current Michelson-Beede CA lounge. "It sounds really exciting, but that would mean my CA team would lose their CA lounge," Billie said. "So it's a winlose situation. I love pizza, but I don't like that we wouldn't have a lot of space for ourselves." The Michelson-Beede CA lounge is located next door to the Beede Bump. Sophomore Taylor Richter said while she may not be living in North Complex next year, she still might frequent Papa John's. "It's definitely better

Check out

In part one of this three-part series about counseling facilities at the University of South Dakota, The Volante breaks down some of the daily happenings and noticeable trends noted by staff at the Student Counseling Center.

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