Faculty Research Awards

McNichols UDMPU Faculty Research Awards (FRA)

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Academic Year 2025-2026

The deadline for proposal submission is January 15, 2025 | 11:59pm EST

In accordance with University of Detroit Mercy Professors Union (UDMPU) contract, there is an established internal research grant fund of $175,000 available to McNichols faculty covered by the UDMPU Contract for the academic year 2025-26. All McNichols faculty are strongly encouraged to apply for and spend Faculty Research Award (FRA) grant monies.

UDMPU FRA Committee

In accordance with the contract, the MFA created an Internal Research Fund committee for the academic year 2025-26 to review proposals. The committee members are as follows:

CBA – Staci Kenno Pinkerton (Co-Chair)
CES – Klaus Friedrich
CHP – Ashlee Barnes
CLAE – Lee Eshelman (Co-Chair)
LIB – Jill Spreitzer
MFA Rep – Cindy Gillham
SACD – Thomas Provost
UDMPU – Diane Robinson-Dunn
ADMIN – Michele Favoretto

UDMPU FRA Request for Proposal (RFP) 2025-26
FRA 2025 Timeline & Important Dates
 DatesDescription
January 15, 20252025-26 Proposals Due by 11:59pm EST
January 15, 20252024-25 Progress Reports Due
March 15, 2025Award Notifications Announced
April 15, 2025Awardee Project Management Workshop & Funds available for distribution
Life Sciences Rm# 116 12:45-2PM​

Please be aware of the following:

  • The deadline for submission is January 15, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
  • All funds must be spent before June 30, 2026.
  • There is currently no limit on requested funds; however only one proposal, as the Principal Investigator, is allowed per faculty during this 2025-26 cycle.
  • Faculty who serve on the committee and submit a proposal will not be involved in any way in the review of his/her proposal.
  • Proposals are funded based on available resources and merit. (The average grant was $5300 in 2021/22, $9,300 in 2022/23 and $8500 2023/24)
  • The proposal and all supporting documentation must be electronically submitted through the UDM Cayuse Sponsored Projects Application.
  • Ensure that you are following the naming convention for your project in Cayuse and the attachments should all begin with FRA-25_LastName. See the Cayuse User Instructions.
  • CITI Program Conflict of Interest course completion required.
  • Proposals must contain all items requested on the RFP and strictly adhere to instructions.
  • Human Ethics compliance is reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). If applicable, IRB approval must be completed or pending by January 15, 2025.
  • Progress Report: If you were awarded a 2024-25 FRA grant with a spending deadline of June 30, 2025, a Progress Report is required to be submitted with your new/continuing application for this year (2025-26). You will find a link to the Progress Report in Cayuse and a required document upload in the Attachments section.
    PLEASE NOTE: If the required Progress Report is not uploaded in Cayuse, your new application will not be submitted to the committee for review.


Please feel free to contact the committee co-chairs with questions or concerns. Thank you.