Research Council Meeting

Thursday, October 17

Members Present: Jessica Ferdig, Alberto Segre, Nicole Green, Shujie Yang, Jodie Graff, Jason Rantanen (phone), Guowei Qi, Amanda Haes

Members Absent: Erin Brothers, Kevin Kelly, Steven Mickelsen, Jane Nachtman, John Nelson, Jane Paulsen, Diane Rohlman, Nicholas Stroup

Others in Attendance: Ann Ricketts, Jennifer Lassner, Robert Kirby, Michael Weaver (Vice President for Research, Marty Scholtz was unable to attend)

Item 1. Welcome and Introductions (Segre) 
 

Item 2. Research Council Charter Review (Segre)

1. Segre reviewed the charge to the research council from the University of Iowa Operations Manual:

2.8(19)b 2.8(19)b University Operations Manual

(A) The Council shall be governed by the terms of the General Charter.

(B) In addition, the Council shall:

Advise in the formulation, review and application of policy and guidelines for University research and its funding both from within and without the University;

Advise on questions concerning the compliance of research with University policies;

Advise in developing methods for informing University members about research opportunities and for stimulating, evaluating and rewarding good research;

Provide a forum to which faculty and students may refer questions and recommendations concerning University research policies and procedures.

Item 3. Publication Waiver Subcommittee Appointments (Segre)

1. Jason Rantanen, Alberto Segre, and Amanda Haes volunteered to train with Jessica Boyle and Ian Arp.  Kevin Kelly subsequently volunteered to serve on the subcommittee as well.  The subcommittee has not reviewed a waiver request since October of 2016.

Item 4. VPR Organization Overview (Ricketts)

1. Assistant Vice President Ricketts provided an overview of the organizational chart and role of the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Item 5. Research Funding Overview (Lassner)

1. Lassner reviewed external funding metrics for Fiscal Year 2019.  Iowa set a record in FY19 for external funding, eclipsing the previous high mark set during the ARRA bump.  Iowa is more heavily leveraged with DHHS (NIH) funding than other institutions in the Big Ten.

Iowa has seen a decline in tenure track faculty over the last ten years despite an increase in the number of overall faculty.  This results in a smaller number of Principal Investigators available to write and submit grants going forward.

Item 6. Research Central Services Advisory Committee Update (Ricketts)

1. Last year’s funding proposals were summarized.  All three proposals were approved by the Budget Review Board.  Ricketts discussed the timeline and plans for what requests the Research CSAC intends to pursue as well as what overall refinements to the budget model are being considered by the Board.

Item 7. Upcoming Vice President for Research Events (Ricketts)

1. Ricketts discussed upcoming VPR events including Creative Matters, Science on Tap, Write Winning Grant Proposals, Melissa Marshall Workshops, Communicating Ideas Workshop, and the Undergraduate Research Fair.

Item 8. Suggested Topics from Council Members

1. Quantifying and tracking undergraduate research
2. Conflict of Interest/Conflict of Commitment in research – review and modification of this policy will be a point of emphasis for this year’s Research Council
3. Joint meeting between Research Council and the Associate Deans for Research in Spring of 2020