COLA LabSpace
CoLA LabSpace
The College of Liberal Arts is pleased to offer LabSpace, a college-wide program providing first-rate research facilities and technical support to Liberal Arts faculty engaged in externally funded research, and academic departments in need of programmatic research space.
Labs are awarded through a competitive proposal process, and may include periodic review for sustained research activity. Terms of use will vary based on the type of lab awarded: Project Lab, Program Lab, or Start-up Lab.
A complete list of labs participating in LabSpace is avaiable here.
Lab Awards
Eligibility and Participating Departments
Liberal Arts Chairs, Directors, and Faculty with active external funding are eligible for a LabSpace award. All Liberal Arts departments and centers participate in LabSpace, except Population Research Center (PRC). PRC affiliates who manage external grants through PRC should contact the PRC director about space needs. Collaborative projects between PRC affiliates and faculty members from other Liberal Arts departments may be eligible for LabSpace awards.
This is an open call without a deadline. However, proposals should be submitted as early as possible to allow for relocation, renovation, and/or construction.
Three space awards are available through LabSpace:
Project Labs
Project Labs are for externally funded research projects conducted by Liberal Arts faculty members. A Project Lab award has a well-defined scope matching that of the external grant, award, or gift.
Learn MoreProgram Labs
Program Labs are for departmental programmatic research, and instructional needs. Examples of Program Labs include lab-classrooms, student research labs, facilities housing shared highly-specialized equipment, and labs dedicated to collaborative strategic research areas or methods.
Learn MoreStart-up Labs
Start-up Labs are awarded to individual faculty members as part of a recruitment offer or a counter-offer. Exact terms of a Start-up Lab award are included in the Prior Approval Request (PAR) document.
Learn MoreAvailable Facilities and Labs
Most LabSpace labs are located in Belmont Hall (BEL), Patton Hall (RLP), the Sarah M. & Charles E. Seay Building (SEA), and William C. Powers Jr Student Activity Center (WCP). Research space constitutes a large and important part of these buildings which have the infrastructure for wet labs, recording and interview rooms, computational labs, office-style (dry) labs, conference rooms, and general offices. (NOTE: RLP, WCP, and BEL cannot support animal housing.)
Please contact LabSpace to discuss possible space configurations before submitting your proposal. If a proposed lab requires new construction or renovations, the proposal should identify funding sources for construction costs.
LabSpace may be available in other buildings. Please contact LabSpace for more information.
Proposal Review and Awards
LabSpace proposals are reviewed and evaluated by the LabSpace Faculty Advisory Committee. Based on the committee's recommendations, the committee's chair determines the award details and communicates award decisions to the applicant(s). LAITS operates and manages facilities in consultation with the committee's chair, as well as manages any related renovations and building projects.
Members of the LabSpace Faculty Advisory Committee:
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Robert L. Crosnoe, Co-Chair, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
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Robert Moser, Associate Dean for Instructional Technology and Facilities, and Department of Government
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Eugenio Arima, Department of Geography and the Environment
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Alan Covey, Department of Anthropology
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Richard P. Meier, Department of Linguistics
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Marie Monfils, Department of Psychology
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Chandra L Muller, Department of Sociology
Liberal Arts ITS Support
LabSpace awardees may request a variety of assistance from LAITS after receipt of their award. These services may include equipment purchasing and setup, facilities planning and design, computer and network management, server and database administration, and other administrative and technical activities. LAITS will provide reasonable assistance to help new labs get up and running, and allow investigators to focus on research.