For the past three days, a group of 20+ faculty representing the UC and CSU campuses have been diligently at work crafting what they hope will be winning grant proposals for advanced research on topics spanning the social and behavioral sciences. They’re participants in the second annual writing retreat hosted at a quiet conference center tucked away near Lake Arrowhead that’s put on by the California Alliance for Hispanic-Serving Social Science Advancement (CAHSSA). Co-led by Holly Hapke, UCI social sciences director of research development, the National Science Foundation-funded program is taking a multidimensional approach to expanding the research enterprise across California’s public Hispanic-serving universities.

“Over the three-day event, we offer several workshops as well as collaborative time for the seven teams of two-three social sciences faculty who are working with mentors on detailed proposals they will eventually submit to national funding agencies,” says Hapke. “Attendees have the opportunity to get time away from their campus duties to really home in on creating winning proposals while having access to mentors and other resources that can aid in the process.”

Joining Hapke as co-leads in the effort are Barbara Endemaño Walker, Ph.D., director of strategic research initiatives and special assistant to the executive vice chancellor for diversity initiatives, UC Santa Barbara; Leslie Ponciano, professor and department chair of social work, CSU Dominguez Hills; and Billy Wagner-Huang, professor and department chair of sociology, CSU Dominguez Hills.

Workshops and presentations included a welcome from UCI social sciences dean and anthropologist Bill Maurer; a brainstorming and conceptualization exercise led by UCI Chancellor’s Professor emeritus Daniel Stokols; an opportunities and strategy session with NSF program officer Wenda Bauchspies; and more.

“The CAHSSA writing retreat offers teams of early and mid-career faculty members from UC and CSU campuses a unique opportunity to work on collaborative grant proposals with the mentorship of research development mentors. The ultimate goal of the retreat is to increase the number of competitive grant proposals that these teams submit, while sharing resources and expertise,” says Justin Sarkis, UCI biological sciences research development lead. “During the three-day retreat, you can almost see light bulbs going off and grant ideas being generated. A palpable feeling of creativity, enthusiasm, and determination hangs in the air. It’s very exciting and satisfying to work intensively on a writing project without the regular distractions. This retreat creates that much needed environment for faculty members."

Learn more about CAHSSA’s work to remove barriers and build research success among faculty at minority-serving institutions: https://www.socsci.uci.edu/magazine/2023/29_hapke.php