We did have penguin damage covered on an NSF polar programs grant once in the 1990s.  But it did a lot less damage than an elephant!

 


Susan

 

From: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org <xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org> On Behalf Of Nichols, Nicole
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 2:18 PM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: RE: [RESADM-L] RE: Send me your craziest allowability question/war story!

 

[This email originated from outside of OSU. Use caution with links and attachments.]

Similarly, we have a vehicle purchased by a federal grant in Africa that was recently totaled by an ELEPHANT. The driver was also injured.

 

We are waiting to see what gets allocated to the grant for this one…

 

-Nicole Nichols

Sr. Research Admin

Pronouns: She/Her

Cell: 314.409.7027 

 

Cardiology Research Admin contact list (updated NOV 2022)

 

UPCOMING OUT OF OFFICE: I will be out of the office July 27 & 28.

 

From: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org <xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org> On Behalf Of Andrea Buford
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 4:13 PM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] RE: Send me your craziest allowability question/war story!

 

* External Email - Caution *

OK, so technically speaking this hasn't happened (yet) and it may not.  But dollars to doughnuts, it will.

 

A large federal award includes a summer camp for high school students,  and undergrads and grad students are hired in droves to facilitate the younger students' experience on campus.  I happened to be on campus on the weekend kicking off the event.  One of the university students parked her car near a lagoon, for unloading all the stuff for the camp.  Except she apparently forgot the whole "park" thing and the car rolled into the lagoon and had to be towed out.

 

Any bets on whether or not we see a grant charge for "tow truck"?

 

On Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 5:05 PM Meredith Tabor <xxxxxx@umd.edu> wrote:

Thanks, everyone for the funny stories!

 

On Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 4:58 PM Rebecca O'Brien <xxxxxx@umbc.edu> wrote:

This one did happen to me, but at a previous institution, the best story I heard was about a  recumbent bike and a new HVAC system for the PI's house that he wanted to be charged to his R01. The justification? The PI conducts some of the work for this grant from home...

 

For me personally, I had a PI charge a bottle of champagne to a private grant to celebrate the start of the project. It was a private sponsor who allowed it. 

 

Rebecca O'Brien, MPP, CRA

(she/her/hers)

Assistant Director

Office of Sponsored Programs

410.455.3928

A Carnegie R1 Institution

 

 

 

On Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 4:54 PM Diane Mason <xxxxxx@lehigh.edu> wrote:

One of my favorites was the purchase of Leggs Everyday Thigh High Stockings.  I felt very awkward asking why the professor needed these.  He laughed when he responded and said they use them to store tubes in liquid nitrogen when in the field because plastic bags break at low temperatures.  I approved it!

 


--

Diane M. Mason, CRA

Sr. Contract & Grant Specialist

Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

Lehigh University

526 Brodhead Avenue

Bethlehem PA 18015

610-758-4402

 

 

 

 

 

On Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 4:42 PM Knock, Cathryn L <xxxxxx@oregonstate.edu> wrote:

Mustache Kit.

 

The text of document when it came through my approval queue went something like this:

 

We were in the field and needed a small/tiny pair of scissors for sample collection (of whatever sagebrush or whatever they were sampling) and Walmart was the only store near us and the only thing we could find that would work was a mustache kit.  But we threw away the comb.

 

I laughed out loud when I read the bit about the comb! 😊 

 

I printed that explanation out and used it for years in my trainings of what good text on a non-standard research supply should look like to document the who, what, why, and how it relates to the grant. 

 

Cathy Knock | Director for Budget and Compliance

Oregon State University | College of Forestry 

278B Peavy Forest Science Complex | 3180 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331

541-737-7306 (email preferred)

xxxxxx@oregonstate.edu 

I work a variable hybrid schedule

 

From: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org <xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org> On Behalf Of Pfister,Brigette
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 10:51 AM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] Send me your craziest allowability question/war story!

 

[This email originated from outside of OSU. Use caution with links and attachments.]

Hi there RA hive mind.. I’m working on a presentation and need some examples. I promise to change any identifying details! I am looking for tricky scenarios and allowability questions for a discussion exercise.

 

What is the craziest allowability question you’ve ever received?

Got any good war stories about things faculty have tried to purchase or pay for with sponsor funds? Extra points if the thing actually turned out to be allowable!

 

I once had a faculty member try to buy a TV and a La-Z-Boy for his office using DOD funds. He got to keep the TV (excuse me, the “wall mounted, high resolution monitor”) but not the chair.

 

All your stories will be appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks

--Brigette

 

Brigette Pfister, MHRD, CRA

Financial Compliance Manager

SponPrgms-VPR-CSU-2-H357

she/her/hers

xxxxxx@colostate.edu | (970) 491-3447

 

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@OREGONSTATE.EDU via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@LEHIGH.EDU via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org


 

 

 

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@UMBC.EDU via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@PSYC.UMD.EDU via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@OAKLAND.EDU via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org


 

--

Andrea Buford

Director, Office of Sponsored Programs

Oakland University

(248) 370-3789

 

 

 

Pronouns: she/her

 

I often work non-traditional hours.  It is also true that I respect people's boundaries between work and personal time.  If you receive an email from me outside your work-hours, please know that I am not expecting a response until your work-day starts.

 

 

Oakland University resides on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabe, known as the Three Fires Confederacy, composed of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. The land was ceded in the 1807 Treaty of Detroit and makes up southeast Michigan.

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@WUSTL.EDU via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org

 

 

The materials in this message are private and may contain Protected Healthcare Information or other information of a sensitive nature. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately notify the sender via telephone or return mail.

- = - = - = - = - = - = -

This email was sent to xxxxxx@oregonstate.edu via the Research Administrator's mailing list.

To unsubscribe from RESADM-L, go to https://lists.healthresearch.org and go into the Account Settings area.

List archives are available at: https://lists.healthresearch.org/resadm-l

To change your settings (such as Digest Mode or to temporarily suspend list emails): https://lists.healthresearch.org