Impactful Research

Addressing today’s most pressing problems requires insights that transcend disciplinary boundaries and traditional research approaches. The college, with its diverse programs, has a unique opportunity to lead innovation and advance research at the intersection of education and health. Team Up for Education and Health Funds support impactful research designed by interdisciplinary teams of faculty and staff that promote innovative solutions and integrated approaches to studying persistent challenges in education and/or healthcare.

In the 2023–2024 academic year, the college awarded over $60,000 to six interdisciplinary teams on a wide range of topics. Notable projects included promoting occupational health and safety of teachers (a collaboration between exercise science and human resource development); developing an infant feeding module for secondary students (a collaboration between nursing and career and technical education); and engaging middle and high school students in community-based participatory research about vaping and social media (a collaboration between public health and educational leadership).

The college continued to provide these internal interdisciplinary grants in the 2024–2025 academic year. Nearly 30 faculty and staff members representing 12 academic programs received 14 grants totaling over $200,000. Six first-year faculty members were among the recipients, suggesting that they were drawn to collaborative opportunities and were making connections across the college. Examples of funded projects included preventing nicotine use among K-12 students (a collaboration between public health and special education), analyzing how principals respond to major education reforms (educational leadership and education policy), and exploring the connections between physical literacy and physical activity (a collaboration between educational statistics and research methods, exercise science, and special education).

Faculty and staff have two opportunities each year to apply for Team Up for Education and Health Funds; proposals are due by the last Friday in September and January. Proposals must demonstrate the significance of the interdisciplinary nature of the proposed project. Applications for Team Up for Education and Health Funds require at least two faculty and/or staff members in the college representing diverse fields.

To submit a proposal for Team Up for Education and Health Funds, apply here.

The WE CARE Speaker Series promotes a culture of research excellence by hosting lectures from prominent scholars on topics with broad appeal across education and health. The series also includes research development meetings with faculty, classroom visits with students familiar with the speaker’s work, and networking opportunities with faculty and staff.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, the college hosted two lectures. Dr. Cheryl Matias, a professor at the University of San Diego, presented “Birthing the Motherscholar: Research Theory and Practice” in September. Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a professor at Stanford University, presented “Adolescent E-Cigarette Use: What’s Going On and How to Prevent and Reduce Use” in January. Both scholars also held additional meetings during their visit, including a mentoring lunch with new tenure-track faculty as part of the Early-Career Faculty Research Engagement and Mentoring Program.

The college again hosted two lectures in the 2024–2025 academic year. In October, the college featured a panel discussion on “Exercise is Medicine: Translating Science into Action” that included Dr. Barry Frankin, the director of preventative cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at William Beaumont University Hospital, and Elizabeth Joy, the chief medical officer for Lore Health, both of whom are internationally recognized fellows of the American College of Sports Medicine. In January, the college hosted Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio, authors of Lead It Like Lasso. These award-winning leadership coaches discussed leadership approaches and lessons from the popular television series Ted Lasso. In advance of the lecture, the college purchased 80 copies of the book that faculty and staff read to prepare for and maximize their learning from the lecture.

Faculty and staff can nominate speakers each semester. To submit a proposal for the WE CARE Speaker Series, apply here.

The Early-Career Faculty Research Engagement and Mentoring Program provides early-career tenure-track faculty with networking opportunities and targeted grant and research development support. The program includes a series of workshops, panel discussions, and roundtable conversations on identifying funding opportunities, writing successful proposals, managing start-up funds, building research teams, and planning a research-productive summer.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, multiple Advancing Research Excellence sessions were held, covering such topics as maximizing start-up funds, working with honors students to advance research projects, managing time for a productive summer, and understanding the promotion and tenure process. In addition, tenure-track faculty were supported with opportunities to participate in the Faculty Writing Retreat and the Overnight Writing Retreat, attend the Write Winning Grant Proposals Seminar (Phase I and Phase II) hosted by the Division of Research and Innovation, and access a new SharePoint site developed by the Office of Research and Grant Administration.

The college continued and built on these initiatives in the 2024-2025 academic year. Advancing Research Excellence sessions were held each semester, faculty were supported in their participation in the Write Winning Grants program (Phase I and Phase II), and a mentoring lunch was held with the fall WE CARE Speaker Series scholars. New tenure-track faculty received targeted and priority registration for faculty development activities, including the Faculty Writing Retreat and sessions planned by the Office of Research and Grant Administration about identifying and applying to grants, institutional review board processes, ScienCV training, and publicizing research and speaking with the media. In addition, a lunch and learn series was developed for new tenure-track faculty hired as part of the Whole School Cluster Hire. These lunches helped new faculty learn about each other’s research interests, meet established scholars whose research intersects schools and health, and develop knowledge about Arkansas policy initiatives and data resources.

The College of Education and Health Professions is committed to enhancing research support and services to promote impactful research initiatives and cultivate a culture of research engagement. The college made several efforts to increase research support to faculty and students.

The college expanded the Office of Research and Grant Administration by adding a post-award research advancement specialist to help faculty and staff successfully manage external awards.

The director and associate director of the college’s Honors Program continued to offer and support the Faculty Mentor Dashboard to provide research-active faculty an opportunity to advance their research agenda by incorporating honors students into their research teams. The director presented the dashboard at an Advancing Research Excellence session of the Early-Career Faculty Research Engagement and Mentoring Program.

To increase the number of high-quality graduate assistants to support research, the college offered a funding opportunity to cover the travel costs of prospective doctoral students who are competitive for the Distinguished Doctoral and Doctoral Academy Fellowships. Three travel grants were awarded in the 2023-2024 academic year. All three candidates visited the campus, received a fellowship, and committed to attending the University of Arkansas. In the 2024–2025 academic year, the college provided four grants across three departments. All four candidates visited the campus and received a fellowship (one Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship and three Doctoral Academy Fellowships).

In addition, the university conducted a faculty compensation study to compare faculty salaries with an academic peer group of 84 institutions. The College of Education and Health Professions continues to collect and review information about start-up packages, summer salary commitments, and graduate assistantship support to remain competitive in drawing outstanding faculty candidates to the University of Arkansas.

The college’s Office of Research and Grant Administration continues to offer significant research support. In the 2024-2025 academic year, they hosted four professional development events, including sessions on finding and applying for grants, navigating institutional review board policies and procedures, using ScienCV to create NIH biosketches, and publicizing research findings to the larger public.