Letter from President Kupchella: Centers of Excellence applications Dear All, The Centers of Excellence Application was released by the Department of Commerce on May 16 and calls for submission of proposals on July 27 and submission of final proposals on August 31. Application forms and material were sent to some of you earlier. The application form is also available at www.und.edu/excellence.doc . Please note that it will open as a Word document file. I have asked Gary Johnson to coordinate and to track all submissions from UND. Please advise the Office of the Interim Vice President for Research, garyejohnson@mail.und.nodak.edu as soon as possible if you intend to submit a proposal in response to the current announcement. This will let us gauge the number of proposals expected from the UND campus. Please note that "The approval and recommendation by the President of the University is required to insure that the funding request is consistent with the mission and development plans of the institution." Please route proposals through the Office of the Interim Vice President for Research by July 24, for review and for my signature. Please make this announcement known to all faculty and professional staff in your areas of responsibility. Note that the questions about the application process or the Centers of Excellence program may be directed to: Justin Dever, Manager Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives North Dakota Department of Commerce 701-328-7258 (office) 701-202-6767 (cell) jdever@nd.gov www.ndcommerce.com -- Charles E. Kupchella, Ph.D., President.