Thinking about “getting a grant” for your program or project? The process is not as easy — or as difficult — as it may seem, but it is complex. To be successful, the faculty or staff member must play an essential role.

Corporations and Foundations Grant Semnars

In a series of free workshops over a light lunch, Chris Groff, director, and Marilyn Gross, assistant director, corporate and foundation relations, University advancement (Metro/Flor), are helping to demystify the world of grant seeking. The emphasis is on private, as opposed to public — or government — funders, though information on government grants and contracts may be included in future programs.

Repeating and enhancing the initial presentations they provided last February, Groff and Gross share insights about the “ins and outs” of grantsmanship, “how-tos” of grants research and proposal writing and trends in private philanthropy — especially as they relate to higher education in New Jersey.

An introductory-level presentation was held on October 7 at the College at Florham, and a similar one is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., in the Rutherford Room, Student Union Building, Metropolitan Campus. For registration or information call 201-692-7010. A more advanced workshop will be held on each campus in February. Practical handouts and references to valuable Web sites will be provided, and there will be time for questions and answers.

Details on the February workshops will be provided early in the new year. For more information, contact Marilyn Gross at 201-692-7010, or e-mail mgross@fdu.edu.

Government Grants

In addition, the University has an Office of Grants and Sponsored Projects, with bi-campus responsibilities, which focuses primarily on federal, state and county government agencies. The office’s role is to advise and train faculty and staff in all aspects of grantsmanship including research, pre-award and post-award activities, and to act as a liaison between faculty and staff and outside funders. A new director of grants and special projects, Laurie Treleven, who reports to the Metropolitan Campus provost, has just joined the office.

For the past 18 years, she has worked with nonprofit organizations, identifying fund sources and developing proposals and managing grants and contracts. Much of her fund-raising work has had a global dimension. She has managed a $4-million project that brought African leaders here for training; programs to promote civic education in Egypt, Indonesia and several Central American countries; a training project that brought 450 Asian educators, government officials and business people to the United States; and a $3.3-million project involving 320 students from Central Asia.

October 2004

View text only for this complete issue.

Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

Information Deadlines