The bi-annual event spotlights outstanding efforts by the faculty to bring grants and sponsorships to the university. Patricia Gibbs, Interim Director of Sponsored Programs, Contracts and Grants organized the event and was pleased with the outcome.

"The overall purpose of the program was to recognize faculty and staff for their pursuit of external funding. The program went extremely well. It met the goal to encourage them to continue seeking external sources of funding. " Gibbs said. "The funding will support research, scholarships, curriculum development, community outreach and the purchase of equipment."

Gibbs credited the faculty and staff nominated during the banquet and the category winners with helping the university advance. The awards banquet will be held every two years to give new and developing grant writers an opportunity to hone their grant writing skills and to become eligible for next awards banquet in 2004.

The awards banquet was preceded by a daylong agency expo. Guests came from federal and state government agencies, corporations and community organizations. The special events of the day were panel discussions where agency representatives detailed their opportunities. The day also included a grant-writing workshop, "A Comprehensive Approach to Grant Writing." Approximately 100 people participated in the Agency Expo.