History
The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) was originally established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1979. Congress was concerned because federal funding for academic research and development (R&D) was concentrated in just a few geographic areas. In response to that concern, the NSF designed EPSCoR to redistribute this funding more equitably across the country, concentrating on increasing funds to states that, in the past, had lacked strong university-based research programs.

In 1990, Congress expanded EPSCoR; as it is known today, EPSCoR is a group of competitive, merit-based programs at seven different federal research and development agencies: the NSF; the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture (DOD, DOE, and DOA); the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Through these agencies, partnerships with state universities and private companies have been created. These partnerships enhance the science and engineering research, education, and technology capabilities of states that receive smaller amounts of federal R&D funds.

North Dakota received its first EPSCoR grant in 1986 under the leadership of Lewis Oring, UND biology professor, and Bob Koob, former NDSU vice president for academic affairs. It was a $3 million grant distributed over five years and was named “Advancing Science Education in North Dakota” (ASEND) at the state level. In January of 1990, Mark Gordon, NDSU chemistry professor, succeeded Oring as one of the project coordinators. EPSCoR continues to fund projects in North Dakota, as well as other participating states. North Dakota partners with several federal agencies, such as EPA, NASA, NSF, and NIH. ND EPSCoR also coordinates the state's EPSCoR activities with the DOD, the DOE, and the DOA.

Scope & Content
The EPSCoR/ASEND records document the program’s activities from 1979 (the year EPSCoR was established by the NSF) through 1991, which marked the end of North Dakota’s first EPSCoR grant—ASEND. A small amount of additional material documents some of the program’s activities after ASEND, including the 1992 and 1993 EPSCoR Annual Conferences, and NSF renewal report for 1992–1993.
EPSCoR/ASEND Records have been arranged into seven series:
1) General Correspondence Series
2) Financial Series
3) Meetings & Conferences Series
4) Reports Series
5) Proposals Series
6) Reviews Series
7) Subject Files Series

The General Correspondence Series includes two sub-series: outgoing and incoming correspondence related to EPSCoR/ASEND activities from 1981 to 1990. This correspondence is in several different formats—letters, memos, and emails—which are arranged chronologically. The outgoing correspondence is primarily from Dr. Bob Koob, former Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Craig Schnell, former Dean of the Graduate School and Director of Research Administration and current Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. The incoming correspondence derives from various people and other sources, including Lew Oring, UND biology professor and co-director of ND EPSCoR, as well as state and federal EPSCoR-related agencies.

The Financial Series is arranged chronologically by fiscal year. This series includes budgets, budget transfer requests, award notices, and other documentation for the ASEND program years, 1986-1991. It also includes the NDSU/UND Grant & Contract Awards summary from the fiscal year 1979-1980.

The Meetings & Conferences Series is divided into three sub-series: ND EPSCoR Meetings; EPSCoR Annual Conferences; and Coalition of EPSCoR States Meetings. The ND EPSCoR Meetings sub-series includes documentation of the origins of ND EPSCoR, including steering committee and advisory committee meeting minutes from 1985-1990. The EPSCoR Annual Conferences sub-series is incomplete, but does include agendas and other material from five of the first nine conferences. Material for the Coalition of EPSCoR States meetings exists for only the first two years, 1988 and 1989.

The Reports Series is comprised solely of the SRI International Report titled “Ongoing Research in North Dakota, Volumes I–III” completed in 1979. This report was one of the initial steps towards submitting North Dakota’s first EPSCoR proposal.

The Proposals Series is comprised of three sub-series: NoDaCoR Proposals, Renewal Proposals, and New Proposals. The NoDaCoR Proposals sub-series includes the bound copies of North Dakota’s first successful EPSCoR grant, submitted in 1986. The proposal is comprised of three volumes and five components. The Renewal Proposals sub-series includes the proposals for ASEND Years 2-4 and the NSF Renewal Report submitted in 1992–1993. The New Proposals sub-series includes five appendices and proposals from 1979–1991, as well as two undated proposals.

The Reviews Series includes individual reviews and panelist evaluations of the NoDaCoR component proposals. It also includes a proposal review summary and information regarding the reviewers. The individual reviews are arranged alphabetically by the principal investigator. The panelist evaluations were separated into three different stages: Stage I, Scientific & Technical Merit; Stage II, Site Review; and Stage III, Final Panel Review. This order was retained during processing.

The Subject Files Series includes material such as ASEND newsletters, seminars, and surveys. It also includes a file titled “MONTS,” which is Montana’s EPSCoR program, as well as news clippings, press releases, and proposal drafts. Most of the material in this series dates between 1986 and 1990.

EPSCoR/ASEND RECORDS

Box/Folder Contents

1/1 Finding Aid & Background Material

General Correspondence Series
Outgoing
1/2 June 1984 – December, 1989
1/3 January – December, 1990, undated

Incoming
1/4 1981 – 1984
1/5 January – April, 1985
1/6 May – September, 1985
1/7 October – December, 1985
1/8 January – December, 1986
1/9 January – November, 1987
1/10 January – December, 1988
1/11 January – December, 1989
1/12 January – May, 1990
1/13 September 1990 – December 1991, undated

Financial Series
1/14 NDSU/UND Grant & Contract Awards, FY 1979-1980

ASEND, Years 1-5, 1986-1991
1/15 Budget Summary

ASEND, Year 1, 1986-1987
1/16 Budget Policies
1/17 NDSU & UND Budgets & Component Budgets
1/18 Equipment Requests/Authorizations
1/19 Sub-grant Documents

ASEND, Year 2, 1987-1988
1/20 Final Budget Report
1/21 Budget Summaries
1/22 Budgets
1/23 Component Budgets
1/24 Component Files
1/25 Budget Transfers
1/26 Award Notices

ASEND, Year 3, 1988-1989
1/27 R&D Summaries
1/28 Budget Transfer
1/29 Award Notices

ASEND, Year 4, 1989-1990
1/30 R&D Summaries
1/31 Budget Transfers
1/32 Award Notices

ASEND, Year 5, 1990-1991
1/33 Award Notices

Meetings & Conferences Series
North Dakota EPSCoR
1/34 Initial EPSCoR Meeting, January 22, 1985
1/35 Developmental Phase Meetings, 1985
1/36 State Relations Subcommittee, 1985
1/37 Steering Committee, September 1986 – April 1988
1/38 Advisory Committee Meeting, April 4, 1988
1/39 Advisory Committee Meeting, September 2, 1988
1/40 Advisory Committee Meeting, October 31, 1988
2/1 Advisory Committee Meeting, December 7, 1988
2/2 Advisory Committee Meeting, April 18, 1989
2/3 Advisory Committee Meeting, September 2, 1989
2/4 Advisory Committee Meeting, May 2, 1990

Annual Meetings/Conferences
2/5 Second Annual EPSCoR Conference, October, 1986
2/6 Fourth Annual EPSCoR Meeting, November, 1988
2/7 Fifth Annual EPSCoR Meeting, November, 1989
2/8 Eighth Annual EPSCoR Conference, October, 1992
2/9 Ninth Annual EPSCoR Conference, November, 1993

Coalition of EPSCoR States
2/10 1988 Meeting
2/11 1989 Meeting

2/12 EPSCoR Information Meeting, February 3, 1989
2/13 Interbasin Biota Transfer Study Meeting, April 7, 1986

Reports Series
SRI Report: Ongoing Research in North Dakota, 1979
2/14 Volume I
2/[Loose] Volume II (part 1)
2/[Loose] Volume II (part 2)
2/[Loose] Volume II (part 3)
2/[Loose] Volume III

Proposals Series
Bound Proposals
NoDaCoR Proposal, 1986
2/[Loose] Section I, Volume I a
2/[Loose] Section I, Volume I b
3/[Loose] Section I, Volume II
3/[Loose] Section II, Component I
3/[Loose] Section II, Component II
3/[Loose] Section II, Component III
3/[Loose] Section II, Component IV
3/[Loose] Section II, Component V

Renewal Proposals
3/[Loose] Year 2, 1987-1988
3/[Loose] Year 3, 1988-1989
4/[Loose] Year 4, 1989-1990
4/1 NSF Renewal Report, 1992-1993

New Proposals
4/[Loose] Appendix II, Component II
4/[Loose] Appendix II, Component III
4/[Loose] Appendix IV, Component IV
4/[Loose] Appendix V, Component VI
4/[Loose] Appendix VI, Component VII
4/[Loose] Departmental Science Development Proposal
4/[Loose] Phase B Implementation Proposal

Unbound Proposals
4/2 1979
4/3 1985
4/4 1987
4/5 1990
4/6 1991
4/7 Undated
4/8 Undated

Reviews Series
Individual Reviews
4/9 Proposal Review Summary
4/10 Proposal Reviewers & Review Sheets
4/11 A-E
4/12 F-I
5/1 J-Kh
5/2 Kn-L
5/3 Mc-N
5/4 O-R
5/5 S-Z

Panelist Evaluations
5/6 Stage I: Scientific and Technical Merit
5/7 Stage II: Site Review
5/8 Stage III: Final Panel Review

Subject Files Series
5/9 ASEND Newsletters, 1989-1990
5/10 ASEND Seminars, 1986-1989
5/11 ASEND Survey: Use of External Evaluators in Tenure & Promotion Decisions
5/12 Claremont Project, The
5/13 Excellence & Equity in University Science
5/14 Monts
5/15 National Norms
5/16 National Science Foundation Data
5/17 News Clippings, 1986-1998, undated
5/18 ND EPSCoR Implementation Proposals – Drafts
5/19 Partnerships to Enhance Academic Quality (PEAQ)
5/20 Press Releases
5/21 SRI Implementation Proposals – Drafts








Processed by Jen Wilkie, May, 2007

univarchives@www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 5/8/07