September 29, 2014

Date of Meeting: 

Monday, September 29, 2014

Members present:  Edward Gillan, Patricia Gillette, Faryle Nothwehr, Paul Soderdahl, Nick Borcherding, Johna Leddy, Cara Hamann, Ryan Tinnes, Claire Sponsler, Alberto Segre

Others in Attendance: Dan Reed, Cheryl Reardon, Ann Ricketts

Item 1: Welcome and Introductions

  • Edward Gillan introduced himself as the 2014-2015 Research Council Chair and welcomed the Research Council.
  • Members present introduced themselves and provided their connection to the council as well as their research interests
  • Ed discussed the charge for the council and the types of things done by the council in the past as well as potential subjects for the upcoming year
  • Dan Reed provided a welcome and noted the council’s importance to all research, both scientific and within the humanities

Item 2: VPR & ED Updates and Initiatives

  • 184 participants signed up for the grant writing seminar held on Tuesday, October 7th
  • A second grant writing seminar focused on the writing humanities applications is scheduled for Tuesday, October 28th
  • The UI Mobile Museum has been a resounding success, recording nearly 35 thousand visitors in 36 Iowa counties since its launch in April of 2014.  The museum is designed to be refreshed with new exhibits and had asked the Research Council to think of potential ideas.  The Mobile Museum is equipped to handle both physical and video displays.  OVPR will provide both planning and monetary support for these professional quality displays.  The deadline for submissions is November 1st
  • OVPR has convened a Humanities Council, one focus of which will be to discuss and advise on life after grad school, considering employment outside of the university setting as well as within
  • A third Faculty Fellow, David Gier, has joined OVPR.  Dan spoke about the Faculty Fellow program.  Ann spoke specifically about David’s contributions, particularly to the Humanities Council.  Currently looking for a fourth Faculty Fellow
  • October 6th – the Economic Development side of OVPR & ED will showcase its restructure, including UI Protolabs, UI Partners (helping existing businesses, 25 employees and below, with business strategy, generational transition, etc…), and UI Ventures (focusing on startups).  Dan would like the Research Council to look at helping to draft an Entrepreneurial Leave of Absence Policy that would allow faculty the opportunity to pursue a research/development-related startup with the opportunity to return to their previous position in the future (18-24 months)
  • Ideation Summits – Dan reviewed the previous Ideation Summits and the resulting projects currently underway.  One of the most positive aspects of the Ideation Summits has been the opportunity for interdisciplinary faculty to come together where they would not normally.  To continue the conversations, OVPR will look at holding Ideation Salon Dinners where faculty can meet to discuss research and scholarship issues. 
  • OVPR has worked with the Faculty Senate to schedule a State of the Research Institution speech from Dan Reed, promoting a conversation about the nature of the public research university
  • In the spring of 2015, OVPR will host a second Innovation Summit celebrating research excellence
  • Dan spoke about, and discussed with the Research Council the Iowa Board of Regents state institution funding reallocation model and the continuing importance of research to the university.
  • Autonomous Vehicles Initiative – Dan spoke about the push for the University of Iowa to become a hub of research into self-driven vehicles, whether cars, planes, or agricultural equipment.  OVPR is creating a public/private partnership with companies like Kinze, John Deere, and Rockwell Collins all interested in the future of autonomous vehicles.

Item 3: Approval of May 2014 Minutes

  • Minutes were reviewed and approved
  • The Annual report from 2013-2014 will be reviewed at the next Research Council Meeting

Item 4: Overview of Recent Research Council Activities and Broad Goals for the Semester/Year

  • Research Council subcommittee will work to draft a records management best practices guide, including best practices for physical specimens, records, collections, non-digitized library holdings, etc…
  • Research Council will look for ways to get undergraduate students more involved in research, especially considering the year-over-year increase in freshman class size
  • Look at campus-wide safety best practices and PI responsibility for lab safety
  • Funding diversification opportunities
  • Strategies to engage the public in research

Item 5: Miscellaneous Items

  • Ed reviewed the fall meeting schedule
  • Publication Waiver Subcommittee – call for volunteers: Patricia Gillette volunteered to serve on the subcommittee.  The group also talked about potentially including an outside representative like a Faculty Fellow or ad hoc members (Alberto Segre and Carolyn Colvin agreed to serve on the Publication Waiver committee following the meeting, this will be confirmed at the next RC meeting)
  • Rewards Committee – Research Council members will be asked to advise on nominated researchers for the Innovation Summit Awards.  Background given by Cheryl Reardon.  Nicholas Borcherding and Faryle Nothwehr volunteered to help
  • Entrepreneurial Leave of Absence Committee volunteers – Johna Leddy volunteered to serve

Item 6: Research Council Composition

  • Ed reintroduced the topic which was discussed last year.  Discussion included the historical reasons for the current makeup of the council as well as what areas might be underrepresented.  The topic will continue to be looked at throughout the year

Item 7: Other Issues

  • Cara Hamann discussed the Post Doc council member potentially becoming a voting member.  Cheryl Reardon suggested that she come up with a proposal along with Minnetta Gardinier for the council