UNews - financial services

Online payment comes to SOS

trevor.kenney — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:20:04 +0000

Other than the birds, there is not much activity on campus at 5 a.m., and yet one ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge faculty or staff member was already making a difference by contributing to Supporting Our Students (SOS). This early morning act of generosity was made possible by the new online payroll deduction form launched last month.

"This is exactly the type of support we wanted to enable," says Jamie Chinn (BSc '03), business systems analyst in information technology services enterprise systems, who was the driving force behind the new form. "We needed to capture the people who are motivated to make a gift but want the process to be simple and immediate."

Pictured (l to r) are Rahim Kanjiyani, Jamie Chinn and Darin McGee, the IT team that created the new online deduction form for the Supporting Our Students campaign.

As an SOS volunteer, Chinn actively promotes the campaign. In talking to faculty and staff across campus, it became clear that the paper form was a problem.

"We wanted to remove that barrier and make it as easy as possible for faculty and staff to make their gift through payroll deduction," says Chinn.

While developing an online form may seem simple, there was a lot of activity behind the scenes. Chinn worked with people in departments across campus, such as Anna Linville in advancement, Joel Makin in financial services and Deb Robb in human resources to make sure that the final product would meet everyone's needs.

"Everyone really came together over this project," says Chinn. "I think that shows the commitment of U of L faculty and staff to our students. We are not only contributing money to a scholarship campaign, we're giving of our time and our expertise to make sure that campaign is successful. It's a strong statement about the community here."

Once a plan was in place, Chinn passed the project off to Darin McGee (BSc '09) and Rahim Kanjiyani to build. The two programmer analysts donated their time on evenings and weekends to complete the project.

"I'm still paying for my own education, so this was a different way for me to get involved and give back," says McGee, who is happy to be able to contribute in a meaningful way.

It is difficult to calculate the total number of hours spent on this project but the trio of volunteers agrees it was more than originally estimated. Despite the challenges, they all see it as time well spent.

"I was happy to pay it forward," says Chinn. "I donate to SOS but one person can only do so much. By making giving that much easier, this tool will hopefully help enhance the culture of support at the U of L and perpetuate faculty and staff giving across campus."

To make your gift through payroll deduction, simply log in to the Bridge (www.uleth.ca/bridge/sos), click the Employee tab, click Supporting Our Students and follow the instructions.

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Online payment comes to SOS

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:46:42 +0000

Pictured (l to r) are Rahim Kanjiyani, Jamie Chinn and Darin McGee, the IT team that created the new online deduction form for the Supporting Our Students campaign.

As an SOS volunteer, Chinn actively promotes the campaign. In talking to faculty and staff across campus, it became clear that the paper form was a problem.

"We wanted to remove that barrier and make it as easy as possible for faculty and staff to make their gift through payroll deduction," says Chinn.

"I'm still paying for my own education, so this was a different way for me to get involved and give back," says McGee, who is happy to be able to contribute in a meaningful way.

To make your gift through payroll deduction, simply log in to the Bridge (www.uleth.ca/bridge/sos), click the Employee tab, click Supporting Our Students and follow the instructions.

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Research awards a culmination of collaboration

trevor.kenney — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:11:41 +0000

Research funding awards are the end result of an incredible amount of preparation, primarily by the lead researcher for the funded project. What cannot be forgotten is the behind-the-scenes legwork the Office of Research and Innovation Services (ORIS) does in support of these programs.

From advertising funding opportunities to helping with eligibility requirements, reviewing drafts and submissions, coordinating fund payments with financial services and filling out forms, forms and even more forms, ORIS plays an integral role in the process.

"We try to make it as seamless as possible for our researchers," says Penny D'Agnone, a Grant Officer for ORIS. "They don't need to know about the hoops and hurdles that can sometimes pop up behind the scenes."

D'Agnone is one of three grant officers. She works with Jane Allan and Chris Picken to co-ordinate pre- and post-award processes for the various funding agencies that help support research initiatives at the U of L. Her portfolio includes medical and health sciences agencies such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). Allan is entrusted with the social sciences and humanities agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), while Picken looks after the natural sciences and engineering agencies such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

D'Agnone, Allan and Picken will either alert researchers to funds they think might be applicable to their studies or assist in the process already initiated by faculty. They'll help with eligibility requirements, read through draft applications and ensure all deadlines are reached.

"We're not experts but we do provide a non-expert opinion on readability, making sure the applications have all the components the agencies are asking for, such as budget constraints and all the letters of support," says D'Agnone. "Having worked on a number of applications, both successful and unsuccessful, our team has garnered some insight into the process that we are able to share with faculty."

In addition, the ORIS has many strong connections to the funding agencies and colleagues across Canada providing a network of support for faculty members.

D'Agnone also participates in a CIHR peer review program each year, giving her the opportunity to see multiple applications – valuable experience she can take back to faculty.

This experience is essential when dealing with the application process, which can sometimes be a long and complicated path not always leading to success. When peer reviewers deny applications, it can be discouraging but D'Agnone, Allan and Picken play a key role in keeping the motivation for applying and reapplying alive.

"For a lot of the motivation, you have to give credit to the researchers," says D'Agnone. "I know that a peer review is not personal but I don't know how you wouldn't take it personally. You're putting your life into it, it's what you do, and it's your passion. Then when you have a group of people come back and say it isn't good enough, that can be difficult to hear."

Often it's a lack of money that's the issue, not the application itself. The money simply runs out and only so many programs can be supported. In these instances, bridge funding can be awarded to keep initiatives alive. One such application was a proposal for funding put forth by
Dr. H.J. Wieden. Initiated in 2005, Wieden reapplied to CIHR on multiple occasions and received three bridge grants before finally being awarded a $515,416 grant over 5 years.

"I give him all the credit for believing in this project and staying with it," says D'Agnone. "It really is a lesson in perseverance."

D'Agnone is confident in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's research excellence as it continues to evolve as a comprehensive institution and says the entire office is eager to support funding possibilities they know are on the horizon.

"We're still relatively young in some of these research areas," she says. "Health Sciences is a new faculty and I can see their research environment is expanding. People are starting to apply for planning grants to take the next step forward and they are seeing success so it is exciting to be a part of that growth."

This story first appeared in the September issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - financial services

Online payment comes to SOS

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Online payment comes to SOS

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Research awards a culmination of collaboration

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