DATE:           12/5/2024

TO:               Business Managers/Department Chairs/Center Directors/Faculty

FROM:          Michael T. Walsh, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs

RE:               OSP Winter Break Deadlines: Dec. 24, 2024 - Jan. 1, 2025

________________________________________________________________

This is a special announcement concerning the OSP schedule for reviewing/approving proposals with deadlines to Federal, State, and Other Agencies that occur during UMBC's Winter Break this year. 

Please note the following:

1.     As of Friday 12/5/24, UMBC's Winter holiday break begins at COB (5 PM) on Monday December 23rd (first full day of holiday vacation is thus Tuesday December 24^th) and goes through Wednesday January 1^st.  UMBC opens for business on Thursday January 2^nd.

2.  All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Friday December 20, 2024 and Wednesday January 1, 2025 must be fully routed, ready for submission, and released to the OSP office for final review and submission by the close of business on Wednesday December 18, 2024; and

3. All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Thursday January 2^nd and Monday January 6th, 2025 (the first 3 business days after the break) will be due to OSP by 9 AM on Thursday December 19, 2024.

This schedule is consistent with our current policy, which requires the submission of complete proposals to OSP at least three (3) FULL business days before the agency submission deadline. Since UMBC is closed during the Winter Break, OSP will also be closed and OSP personnel will not be available during the Winter Break for consultation or proposal submission(s). 

The campus closure during Winter Break traditionally has imparted a heavy workload on OSP staff. Therefore, we will enforce our current policy more consistently, with little maneuverability.   Proposals received after the OSP deadlines specified above will be reviewed on a first-come/first-serve basis and will be submitted only if time permits. 

In keeping with the deadline enforcement policy of ORCA (Divison of the Vice President for Research & Creative Achievement), any proposal not fully routed and ready for submission by 9:00 a.m. of the deadline date will not be submitted to the agency.  If the deadline occurs over Winter Break, please refer to the deadline presented in #2 above.

Thank you for your understanding...and best wishes for a great Holiday season and Winter Break.

Best Regards,

Dr. Michael T. Walsh

Director

UMBC Office of Sponsored Programs

On today’s episode we hear a rebroadcast of a special event hosted by the UMBC Center for Social Science (CS3).

The roundtable, which took place in October, was the second in-person iteration of a series designed to bring together fabulous UMBC alumni from across the social sciences. The roundtable was moderated by CS3’s acting director, Dr. Eric Stokan. The panel brought together the following fantastic UMBC alumni:

Michele Berry received a master’s degree in environmental policy from the school of public policy at UMBC, having completed a bachelor’s degree at the New School. Michele now works as a stormwater coordinator for the Chesapeake Stormwater Network.

Amanda Cardone currently works as a survey methodologist at RTI International. Amanda received a MA in applied sociology at UMBC, in which she honed her expertise in survey science and programming.

Amy Soukoup currently serves as a community data analyst for Live Baltimore, a nonprofit that helps potential homebuyers find the right place to live in Baltimore, among other goals. Amy received a MA in economic policy analysis from UMBC.

Manisha Vepa earned a bachelor’s degree in global studies and economics at UMBC in 2018 and now works as an economic research analyst and East Asia expert at Ascendant Program Services. LLC which contracts with the federal government.

Check out the following links for more information on UMBC, CS3, and our host:

• The UMBC Center for the Social Sciences Scholarship
• The University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Ian G. Anson, Ph.D.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon!

Retrieving the Social Sciences is a production of the UMBC Center for Social Science Scholarship.  Our podcast host is Dr. Ian Anson, and our acting director is Dr. Eric Stokan. Our production intern is Jean Kim. Our theme music was composed and recorded by D’Juan Moreland (UMBC '24).  Special thanks to Amy Barnes and Myriam Ralston for production assistance.  Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where you can find full video recordings of recent UMBC events.

University of Maryland, College Park, the host institution for the Scholarship in Teaching & Learning umbrella IRB protocol, is transitioning to a new IRB management system. To accommodate the transition, they will pause the acceptance of new IRB protocols under this umbrella from December 1, 2024, to December 1, 2025. Existing SoTL IRB protocols will continue to be managed by College Park. New SoTL IRB protocol applications may be filed directly through UMBC’s IRB Kuali submission process.

The Fall 2024 NSF Virtual Grants Conference is open for registration! The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will host the semi-annual event from December 9 – 12, 2024. This is an excellent opportunity to gain insights into NSF’s current issues, policies and procedures, and specific funding opportunities.

There is no cost to register and attend the Grants Conference. 

Register today!

The fall event will introduce the use of Zoom Events to host the conference. Zoom Events is an all-encompassing platform that offers individual session pages, a personalized attendee schedule, and profiles for networking. The days of registering for individual sessions are no more! Participants can save sessions they are interested in viewing to their schedule with the click of a button.   

Want to know more about the Grants Conference? Visit the conference page on the Policy Office Outreach website. Resources such as previous event recordings are also available. Those unable to attend the conference live can view recorded conference sessions on-demand shortly after the event on the Resource Center and our YouTube channel. 

If you have any logistical questions about this virtual conference, please contact: grants_conference@nsf.gov.