Chris Simon and Ju Won Park Awarded 2025 CSBS-VPR Funding Incentive Seed Grant

Congratulations to Chris Simon and Ju Won Park for receiving a 2025 CSBS-VPR Funding Incentive Seed Grant! Their proposal was selected from a competitive pool of approximately 20 submissions, with only four projects receiving funding this year.

The awarded project, titled “Likelihood of Serving, Being Willing to Fight, and Re-enlisting: The Role of Social Identity and Meeting Force Strength Needs in the U.S. Army National Guard,” aims to explore the impact of social identity on an individual’s likelihood to serve, fight, and re-enlist in the U.S. Army National Guard. The findings will inform recruitment and retention strategies, offering valuable policy recommendations to state Adjutant Generals’ offices.

The team plans to use insights from this study to pursue extramural funding for further research on a state-by-state basis.

Team Members:

• Christopher A. Simon (PI), Division of Public Affairs, University of Utah

• Ju Won Park (Co-PI), Division of Public Affairs, University of Utah

• Nicholas P. Lovrich, Washington State University

• Michael C. Moltz, Shippensburg University

Well done, Chris and Ju Won!