UR member institutions should think seriously about submitting a proposal to the NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI), if they have not done so already. This program has a mandate to fund primarily undergraduate institutions as well as research universities, and the funding rate for PUIs has been higher than that for RUs in recent years.

To encourage our members to apply, and to help them in the application process, we are producing a special issue of the CUR Quarterly in December 2002 with 11 articles devoted to MRI. The issue begins with an overview from the issue's editor, Kelly McConnaughay, followed by an article by Joan Frye, program officer for MRI. There are 8 articles by successful MRI grantees. The issue concludes with an article by CUR member Rosemary Marusak, who has served as panelist for MRI reviews.

The next deadline for MRI is January 23, 2003. The December Quarterly will be published in November this year to give you timely access to this information.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of this special issue of CUR Quarterly, please e-mail or call Leslie Martin, OSR Director, with your request.

lmartin@lasierra.edu
(951) 785-2454 (voice)