May 18, 2018

Date of Meeting: 

Friday, May 18, 2018

Research Council Meeting

Friday, May 18, 2018

Members Present: Johna Leddy, George Hospodarsky, Barbara Eckstein, Jane Paulsen, Amanda Haes, John Nelson, Elizabeth Constantine, Nicholas Borcherding, Jessica Boyle, Titus Hou, Bob Kirby, Jane Nachtman (phone), Jennifer Fiegel

Members Absent: Alberto Segre, Steven Mickelsen, Jason Rantanen

Others in Attendance: John Keller, Richard Hichwa, Ann Ricketts, Jennifer Lassner, Michael Weaver, Christine Bohannan, Suzanne Malo, Guowei Qi (2018/19 Undergraduate Representative)

Item 1:  Welcome (Johna Leddy)

  • Leddy requested time savings strategy suggestions.  She will be meeting with the Office of the Provost next week to discuss the subcommittee’s work.

Item 2:  Updates from OVPRED (John Keller)

  • The Vice President for Research search will go forward.  Isaacson, Miller, the firm retained for the search, will be on campus June 12-14 to visit with the committee and stakeholders.  The same firm is also being retained for the Provost and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean searches.
  • Review Committee/Recommendations – Keller discussed findings and recommendations of the Central Services Review Committee (CSRC) and VPR Search Committee reports.
  • Budget – Keller discussed the effect of the building moratorium on VPR projects as well as the mandated cuts to the State Hygienic Laboratory, which have resulted in 11 furloughs.  The Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing and Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation were also affected by the state cuts.
  • The Pentacrest Museums will not be authorizing a search for a new director following the departure of Trina Roberts.  Liz Crooks will step in as interim director.
  • Marta Gomez will be leaving the Research Development Office.  VPR will look to backfill and aid that office as their efforts have been well received across campus. 
  • University of Iowa Research Foundation funding is still under discussion with the Office of the President.  This proposal came from the CSRC group.  The other funding recommendation from that group related to funding the eRA Project (information technology upgrades).
  • The council discussed the relationship and role of the Research Council going forward.  Both the VPR Search Committee and the CSRC recommended an advisory committee of senior researchers.  Keller indicated that, due to the number of advisory committees already in place, including the Research Council and Associate Deans for Research, a new committee is not necessary.  However, Keller indicated that he would like to see both of those groups become more engaged and take on a greater advisory role.
  • The council discussed the VPR budget including discretionary funding pools indicating that the Research Council could play an important role in directing these dollars under the new budget model.  John Nelson suggested engaging donors to fund undergraduate research as well.
  • The minutes from the March 5 meeting were approved unanimously.

Item 3:  Academic & Professional Record (APR) (Christine Bohannan & Suzanne Malo)

  • Committee on Access and Use of Faculty Data – Bohannan discussed the makeup and the function of the committee.  Their current discussion centers on the most ethical way to share faculty data (with whom to share and what conditions might apply).
  • APR Background – different colleges have different needs, so making a one-size-fits-all tool is difficulty.  Staff have concerns about inputting data, its usefulness, and the adaptability of the tool for their needs.
  • There are potential research-related applications for the APR – NSF mentoring and other ad hoc queries, NIH Biosketch, Customizable CVs, IDEAS (Iowa Directory of Expertise, Artistry, and Scholarship).
  • Malo provided a demo of the IDEAS tool.  The tool is still in a pilot form but will eventually be released to faculty and research staff.  There are opportunities to expand beyond publications to research interests, teaching, current studies, etc.
  • Bohannan and Malo requested feedback from the Research Council on how to make this tool easer to use.