With funding from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Office of Social Science Research (OSSR) was established in 1975 to accommodate growing interest in experimental and non-experimental research in the Social Sciences.

In 1987, OSSR expanded its capabilities to facilitate efforts by social scientists to secure external funding and to support interdisciplinary social science research activities. Under the leadership of Director John Gardiner, OSSR was instrumental in supporting investigators who obtained over eight million dollars in funding for research at UIC from sources including: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Joyce Foundation, the Lilly Endowment; the MacArthur Foundation; the National Institute of Justice; the National Science Foundation; Pew Charitable Trusts; and other private and public funding sources.

Most recently in 2002, OSSR has been reconfigured to expand its support services for externally funded research activities in the basic social sciences at UIC. Our new mandate covers these basic functions:

• Technical and clerical assistance at all stages of the funding process including the search for appropriate funding agencies, the preparation of grant proposals, and the administration of grants that are awarded.

• Funding of small seed grants, that can be evaluated with short turn-around time.

• Assistance with computer software installation and upgrades.