Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship

Promoting a campus-wide culture of creative inquiry

Led by experienced academics in partnership with research support professionals across the University, the Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship facilitates faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate student success at all stages of research, scholarship and creative endeavor.

The Institute’s approach is shaped by Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic ideals of Veritas, Unitas, Caritas (Truth, Unity, Love). Our staff is committed to inclusive support for the varied forms, methods and traditions of inquiry and to the promotion of substantive, multidisciplinary engagement across the University’s colleges, departments and centers.

Meet Our Team

Current Programs

+-Funding 101: An Introduction to Grant-Seeking

Funding for your research or scholarship is often essential and always helpful. But it can be hard to know where to start, and the pursuit of funding can feel like distraction from your academic work. Funding 101 provides faculty and post-doctoral fellows with an introduction to the funding process and the ways it can enrich your academic work.

The program consists of a series of 4 sequenced seminars. Come to all 4 for the full introduction or come only to the sessions that interest you most. Each session is catered and includes a presentation by campus experts and time for questions.

For catering purposes, registration is preferred but drop-ins are also welcome.

Funding 101 is an Institute-led initiative in collaboration with Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Nursing and Engineering, Corporate & Foundation Relations, and the Office of Grants and Contracts.

Session Topics

1. Why Seek Funding (if I can manage my research or scholarship without it)?
Thursday, January 30, 12:00-1:00 pm. SAC, Room 300. REGISTER FOR THIS SESSION
Friday, Janary 31, 10:00-11:00 am. Haverford Room, Connelly Center. REGISTER FOR THIS SESSION

2. Finding Funding Opportunities
Tuesday, February 18, 12:00-1:00 pm. Haverford Room, Connelly Center.
Friday, February 21, 10:00-11:00 am. SAC, Room 300.

3. Grant Proposal Development Basics
Thursday, March 12, 12:00-1:00 pm. Haverford Room, Connelly Center.
Friday, March 13, 10:00-11:00 am. SAC, Room 300.

4. Preparing a Grant Submission
Tuesday March 24, 12:00-1:00pm. SAC, Room 300.
Friday March 27, 10:00-11:00am. Haverford Room, Connelly Center.

+-Casual Conversations

Join us monthly for a casual conversation over a catered lunch. This series offers faculty and post-doctoral fellows a participant-led, multidisciplinary forum to share their experiences with common issues and practices in research, scholarship, and creative pursuits.

The series will launch in January 2020. Each session will explore a different topic and be scheduled on two consecutive days to accommodate teaching schedules. Bring ideas, success stories and challenges related to the topic of the month—we provide lunch, drinks and dessert. Come any time between 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.

If you would like to be notified directly when sessions are scheduled, please contact us. We look forward to you joining the discussions!

Upcoming Conversation Topics

Research Metrics for Your Scholarship: Envisioning Meaningful Measures

January 28: Haverford Room, Connelly Center [REGISTRATION PREFERRED]
January 29: SAC 300 [REGISTRATION PREFERRED]

Citation counts, h-index, journal impact factor, publisher rank, grants awarded… How well do established research metrics communicate the value and significance of your scholarly work? The Villanova Institute for Research & Scholarship is facilitating an informal, multidisciplinary conversation about the usefulness and limitations of common research metrics for different types of scholarship and scholars. Join us to consider what kinds of metrics might meaningfully represent your contributions.

Scholarly Visibility Online: Changing Norms of Academic Self-Promotion

February 11: SAC 300
February 12: DevonRoom, Connelly Center

Digital platforms and tools make it easier than ever to increase your scholarly visibility and reach your audience, but many academics are wary of self-promotion, especially on social media. The Villanova Institute for Research & Scholarship is facilitating an informal and multidisciplinary conversation about the changing norms of publicizing your scholarship-- and yourself--online.

Encounters with Reviewer 2: Peer Review for Publication
March 17 and 18
Location: TBD

Co-authoring and Collaborating
April 7 and 8
Location: TBD

+-Faculty Writing Group

The Inn at Villanova
January 7, 2020
Coffee, light breakfast, and lunch provided. Reception to follow.

Do you have a writing project that you want to complete by the end of this academic year? Writing groups can be one of the best ways to keep you on schedule. This program is designed to help faculty create well-formed and well-managed writing groups. At the heart of the program is a full-day workshop focused on planning, goal setting and blocks of writing time that model the benefits of writing alongside others. The workshop will culminate in the formation of semester-long writing accountability groups based on individual schedules and a celebration of accomplishments.

Faculty will be asked to come to the workshop with specific writing projects in mind. Please fill out this interest form if you would like to receive more information about this workshop.

Our Framework

Created in late 2019, the Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship is developing resources, programs and enrichment opportunities to support the University’s scholars in the following activities.

Help shape our offerings—share your ideas or suggestions!

Exploring Ideas and Collaborating

Exciting research and scholarship often begin with vague ideas that need to be nurtured. Programs that create multidisciplinary conversations in low-stakes formats can promote creative capacity and empower scholars to successfully launch new projects.

Obtaining and Managing Funding

Funding for research is often essential and always helpful. To help scholars decode the art of successful grant-seeking and grant-management, the Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship coordinates closely with campus partners to offer coherent education and guidance across the award lifecycle.

Enriching Writing Practices

Writing is central to the entire knowledge making process. It is the primary medium through which scholars connect and make a broad impact. The Institute’s Faculty Writing Program is dedicated to socializing writing and offering programming tailored specifically to the goals of faculty writers. The program helps faculty to create time and space for their writing, provides training in the types of writing specific to the academic profession and forges writing communities across campus.

Executing a Project

Academics are trained to carefully design their studies and creative processes, but effective management of those projects often requires additional skills. Training in areas such as project management, research data management, document control and workflow design can facilitate smooth project execution.

Disseminating Work

The impact of research, scholarship and creative works can be augmented by a well-planned dissemination strategy. Together with our campus partners, the Institute can help scholars to effectively target journals, publishers, venues and outlets; manage their scholarly identity; improve the discovery, accessibility and visibility of their work; and communicate their ideas and results to the public.

Advancing a Career

Opportunities and constraints on research around scholarship vary across one's career. Coaching, mentorship, multidisciplinary networks and professional development programs can empower scholars at all stages of their career to articulate their agendas and evolve their plans across the changing terrain of their professional lives.