RESEARCH COORDINATING COUNCIL

Memorandum 135

April 19, 2001

Members Present: Barbara Adamcik, Sean Anderson, Tracy Becker, Jonathan Blotter,

Steve Byers, Deb Easterly, Kay Flowers, Dianne Horrocks, Edwin

House (presiding), Mary Flint for Skip Lohse, Pamela Park, Barbara

Cunningham for Beth Stamm, Al Strickland for Jane Strickland,

Kandy Turley-Ames, Doug Wells

Members Absent/Excused: Phil Blick, Chris Daniels, Karl DeJesus, Will Hamlin,

Frank Harmon, Richard Inouye, Dave Kleist, Subbaram Naidu,

Keith Weber, Dan Wolfley, Paul Zelus

Dr. Edwin House declared a quorum was present.

I. It was MSC (10y, 0n) to approve Memorandum #134

II. REPORTS

A. Faculty Research Committee – The committee met on April 2. Dr. Leonid Hanin

was selected as ISU’s Distinguished Researcher for 2001. The committee

received 11 research proposals. The proposals will be discussed on May 4

and final decisions will be made on May 11.

B. Graduate Student Research and Scholarship Committee – Tracy Becker reported

the committee met on March 30. The committee received 48 ASISU

applications, and 21 of these were awarded scholarship funds. The committee

received 21 research proposals and 3 dissemination proposals. They met on

April 6 to discuss the proposals. The resubmission deadline for changes was

yesterday.

C. Undergraduate Research Committee – Dr. Curtis Anderson is the new chair

for this committee. The Undergraduate Research Symposium is being held today

on campus. There are 27 presentations and 49 undergraduate

researchers participating in the Symposium. More departments are participating

this year. The committee will meet on April 24 to award the research proposals.

D. Humanities/Social Sciences Research Committee – The call for proposals will be

going out in May and a reminder next fall.

E. University Research Committee – Dr. House reported that this committee will

be reviewing proposals within the next two weeks.

F. Federal Initiatives – ISU submitted proposed projects totaling $22 million. The

Idaho Accelerator Center projects were reduced to two from the original

four. Everyone who submitted a request has at least one project still being

considered.

G. Regarding the Distinguished Researcher, see A.

H. Approval of Changes in Release Time of Grant Preparation – Dr. House reported

to the Council that President Bowen had approved the revisions.

I. Other – The legislature has allocated $420,000 in new funding to ISU for enhancing

research. Most of this funding will be used for research faculty and graduate

research assistantships. Dr. House and Vice President Lawson will allocate these

funds. They will be used to enhance the development of ISU’s research centers.

III. COUNCIL BUSINESS

A. RTSEF – Proposals were received from Dr. William Woodhouse and

Dr. J. B Owens. Dr. William Woodhouse submitted a proposal

entitled “Graduate Training in Family Medicine” and Dr. J. B Owens

submitted a proposal entitled “The Villena Cartel: Organized Crime and

International Smuggling in Philip II’s Spain.” It was MSC (10y, 0n)

to recommend both proposals for funding to Dr. Lawson.

B, Changes to UgRC guidelines – Item deferred; the committee is still in the

process of making changes.

C. Family Medicine Research Center – Dr. Force addressed the Council. He

said this would be one of six centers nationally doing this type of research.

Dean Hatzenbuehler has provided space for the center This center is unique

in graduate education in family medicine. The center will help attract

high quality residents who already have an M.D. who want to work in an

academic setting. The residents see about 15,000 patients per year. The

results of the research conducted have been published in professional journals.

Dr. Force said the research in the center takes almost 50% of his time and

about 10-20% of Dr. Woodhouse’s time. The Study Coordinator is

currently a ¾-time position and needs to go to full-time in the fall. Dr.

Liday spends about 15% of her time on this research, and this will

increase in subsequent years, possibly up to 30% of her time. The center will

seek external funding in the future from NIH, Agency for Health-Care

Quality, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Center for Disease

Control.

Dr. House reviewed the requirements to qualify as a Level II research center.

At least three people must be working together with a reasonable publication

record and reasonable possibility of external funding. These centers are also

eligible for institutional funding. It was MSC (10y, 0n) to approve Family

Medicine as a Level II research center.

D. Evaluation of Research Faculty Guidelines – Departments will have the option

to use these or not. A department may develop their own guidelines or choose

to use these guidelines which are applicable to research faculty that are funded

through the Office of Research. It was MSC (8y, 0n, 2 abstain) to remand

these guidelines to the Faculty Senate with changes.

E. Intellectual Property – ISU Academic Vice President and BSU Provost

both opposed the changes proposed by the state. Kay Flowers reported

that the changes had been tabled at the state meeting. The changes probably

will not be in place in order to be enacted by July 1. The Idaho institutions

are not in agreement, especially regarding item 11 of the proposed new policy

shared previously with the Council. For example, this would require departing

and former employees to leave lab notebooks at the institution. This

discourages rather than encourages faculty to come forward with disclosure

and development of new products.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m.