Dear Colleagues,
I hope that you are doing well in this very difficult time and adjusting to our current circumstances. As classes are moved online, student presence on campus is restricted, and social distancing measures are put in place, research, creative, and scholarly activities of many of our faculty and students are also greatly impacted. For some, whose scholarly activities require access to labs or other facilities on and off campus, contact with people, or travel, this impact has been extensive. I understand the difficulty that you are facing with this adjustment. I also know that many of you are making the best of these circumstances to continue your scholarly activities. Some of you have shared with me that you are planning to catch up on literature, work on articles, book chapters and grant proposals or analyze data. In addition, many of you are continuing to engage with your research students through regular virtual meetings, encouraging them to read more, get their data ready for publications, start writing articles and theses, and learn new skills and software. I have no doubt that Appalachian faculty will adapt quickly to this challenging situation and find innovative ways to move their scholarly endeavors forward.
We have put together some resources and guidance, which we are updating regularly, to help you navigate this situation. Please visit our Continuity of Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activities site for general information, specific updates from Sponsored Programs, Grants Resources and Services, Research Protections, and Research Design and Analysis units, and links to guidance provided by federal and other agencies. We have been contacting faculty members, who have active grants, with specific information regarding their agencies of interest. We are also working on a Frequently Asked Questions document that you will be able to access from this site. Additionally, we have started sending out a Covid-19 specific bulletin to the Research google group that contains funding opportunities as well as updates from agencies. Please contact us at grs@appstate.edu if you'd like to join this group.
Please let us know how we might be able to further assist you to continue your research, scholarly, and creative endeavors.
Sincerely,
Ece Karatan, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Research
Professor of Biology