1:30-2:30pm, 201 Gilmore Hall

Council members Present:

Jordan Cohen, John Doershuk, Erin Irish, Bob Kirby, Johna Leddy, George Malanson, Yasar Onel, Cheryl Reardon, Paul Romitti, Alberto Segre, Linda Snetselaar, Michael Wichman

Guests:

Michael Cohen, Professor of Pathology; Kate Gfeller, Professor, School of Music and Communication Sciences and Disorders; Jay Semel, Associate Vice President for Research

Chair Linda Snetselaar called the meeting to order at 1:30pm.

The minutes from the November joint Research Council/Graduate Council meeting and the December meeting were approved unanimously.

Agenda Item 1: Strategic Task Force on Research and Creative Excellence: Michael Cohen (Chair) and Kate Gfeller (Vice Chair)

• Profs. Cohen and Gfeller discussed the Task Force’s process for reaching their recommendations in the report submitted to the Provost, which is to be released next month.
• The Task Force focused on the following five areas of inquiry: 1) infrastructure for research and creative activities, 2) factors that impede or support inter-disciplinary collaborations, 3) incentives, 4) economic development and community engagement, and 5) five to ten areas of research, scholarship and creative activities for which Iowa can achieve international eminence and distinction given current resources and realistic enhancements.
• Various documents, including The Iowa Promise, Policy on Faculty Appointments in Non-Departmental Units, Report to the Provost on the Interdisciplinary Committee on Faculty Issues (2001), GEF Task Force Report, Intercollegiate Task Force on the Organization of Research and Education in the Life Sciences (2007), were reviewed.
• Input from across the University was gathered through email surveys, meetings with the Faculty Council, Council of Deans, consultations with other Task Force chairs, and open campus forums. Infrastructure and potential for fiscal viability was assessed.
• The Task Force developed internal principles of evaluation for the 71 proposals submitted for review.  Each proposal received an independent rating by the reviewing members. The broader Task Force discussed the proposals that scored in the top 50% and consolidated complementary proposals to form broader themes.

Agenda​ Item 2: Centers/Institutes/Organized Research Units: Next steps for information gathering

• Two small subcommittees will form:
  • One sub-committee will develop a list of questions to be posed to Centers/Institutes/Organized Research units on campus. An initial “first wave” of basic questions (e.g. Name, URL, graduate programs, courses, joint grants, seminar series, “other” activities, etc) will be presented to a wide audience to be followed by a “second wave” of more focused questions. Method of distribution will be determined. Paul Romitti, Bob Kirby, Michael Wichman, and Johna Leddy will serve on this sub-committee.
  • A second sub-committee will gather a comprehensive list of Centers/Institutes/Organized Research Units on campus utilizing a survey of the UI website and feedback from Associate Deans. Cheryl Reardon and George Malanson will serve on this sub-committee.
  • Sub-committee findings will be presented at the February meeting.
• One goal of the census is to enable the University to communicate the ways in which the University engages the people of the state.

Agenda Item 3: March meeting with Provost Loh

• Eight major recommendations of the Strategic Taskforce on Research
• Faculty development time
• Chair Linda Snetselaar will gather additional questions from the Council to be discussed at the February meeting.

Meet adjourned at 2:33pm