RESEARCH COORDINATING COUNCIL

Memorandum 129

September 28, 2000

 

Members Present:                    Barbara Adamcik, Sean Anderson, John Beck, Phil Blick, Steve Byers, Karl

                                                    DeJesus,Deb Easterly, Kay Flowers/ Nancy Griffin, Will Hamlin, Dianne

                                                    Horrocks (presiding), Dave Kleist, Rudy Kovacs, Subbaram Naidu,

                                                    Beth Stamm/Barbara Cunningham, Doug Wells, Cindy Wilson, Dan Wolfley,

                                                    Paul Zelus

 

Members Absent/Excused:   Jonathan Blotter, Chris Daniels, Frank Harmon, Edwin House, Richard Inouye,

                                                 Sue Jenkins, Skip Lohse, Keith Weber

 

Ms. Horrocks declared a quorum was present.  She had everyone introduce themselves and tell what  unit

they represent.

 

 I.         It was MSC (11y,0n) to approve Memorandum #128.

 

II.         REPORTS

 

A.        Dr. Hamlin reported that the Faculty Research Committee awarded 17 out of the 20 proposals

            submitted last spring.  This was possible because the University Research Committee transferred

            $23,820 in funds to the Faculty Research Committee.  The Call for Proposals for fall has

            been distributed and proposals are due in November.

        

B.        John Beck reported that the Call for Proposals for the Graduate Student Research and

            Scholarship Committee (GSRSC) is out and the deadline is November 13.  Students may

            contact John, Katherine Bowman - GSRSC Chair, or the Office of Research for copies of the

            guidelines.

 

C.        Karl DeJesus reported that the Call for Proposals for the Undergraduate Research Committee

            is out with a deadline of November 16.  The Bylaws and Guidelines for Proposals for this

            committee have been approved by the Faculty Senate.

 

D.        Ms. Horrocks informed the committee that the Humanities/Social Sciences Research Committee

            is still in the process of making changes/corrections to the Bylaws and Guidelines for Proposals. 

            A ballot will be sent to committee members to approve these changes.  Once approved, the final

            versions will be presented to the Research Coordinating Council for approval.

 

E.         Council members received a list of awards made by the University Research Committee last spring. 

            Seven proposals were awarded for a total of $56,180. Ms. Horrocks announced that this committee puts

            out one call for proposals annually in the spring.

 

 

 

            F.         Council members received a list of the FY2001 Infrastructure Awards made by Dr. House.  Ms. Horrocks

                        reported that several of these awards are made to meet the obligations of the institution for matching

                        funds for EPSCoR and other grants.

 

            G.        Dr. Lawson accepted the recommendations made by the Council for three of the proposals for Release

                        Time to Seek External Funding.   The other two proposals were funded by the University Research

                        Committee.

 

            H.        Ms. Horrocks reported that the Inland Northwest Research Alliance (INRA) has awarded Dave Rodgers

                        in Geology $80,000/year for two years to fund a postdoctoral fellow to conduct research and Doug Wells

                        in Physics $45,000/year for three years for a doctoral level researcher.  A second competition will be held

                        this fall.

           

            I.          Ms. Horrocks reported on the SBOE Technology Incentive grants.  Dr. Paul Link in Geology was awarded

                        $192,600 in continuing funds and Dr. Kris Robinson was awarded $118,300 in continuing funds. 

                        There were five new awards made--Dr. Paul Cady in Pharmacy was awarded $48,950, Dr. Steve

                        Friedrichsen in the Idaho Dental Education Program was awarded $69,000, Dr. Terry Lay

                        in the Instructional Technology Resource Center was awarded $70,960, Dr. Skip Lohse in the

                        Idaho Museum of Natural History was awarded $121,915, and Dr. David Beard in Business was

                        awarded $34,375.  New awards totaled $345,200.

 

            J.         Ms. Horrocks asked Council members if there were other awards from the various units on campus. 

                        None were mentioned.

 

            K.        The Institute for Rural Health has dropped the word “Studies” as part of their title.  This

                        must be approved by the State Board of Education so the change is not official yet.

 

Council members received a list of ISU’s research centers/institutes/units and affiliations.

           

Council members received a handout showing how the Carnegie Foundation now classifies

various universities.  ISU’s designation has changed from a Doctoral II Institution to a Doctoral

Research University-Intensive.

 

III.       COUNCIL BUSINESS

 

A.        Approval of changes in the Bylaws and Guidelines for Proposals of the Humanities/Social

            Sciences Research Committee was tabled.  This committee is still discussing changes and will

            send a copy of those changes along with a ballot to vote for approval/disapproval to the members

            who were absent from the meeting.

 

B.        It was MSC (11y,0n) to approve the changes in both the Proposal Guidelines and Rating Sheet

            for Release Time to Seek External Funding.  These were basically editorial changes to clarify

            that this release time is exclusively for the purpose of writing a  proposal for external funds.

 

C.        Kay Flowers distributed a handout showing the current acquisition budget and expenditure pattern,

            the challenges this presents, and three different proposals to consider for using research

            overhead money.  Dan Wolfley said that there is between $800,000 and $1 million collected in

            overhead each year; therefore, 2% would amount to $16,000 - $20,000 annually.  Ms. Flowers

            said the University Library Committee meets in two weeks.  That committee has not seen the

            handout with the recommendations and will discuss them when they meet.  Please drop any comments

            to Ms. Flowers via email.   Council members were asked to discuss the options listed in the handout

            with colleagues and bring that information back to the next meeting.

 

D.        There was continued discussion on the Evaluation Guidelines and Procedures for Research Faculty. 

            A question was raised as to whether research faculty were tenure-track as there is already an

            established set of guidelines for those positions.  It was established that many research faculty

            are not tenure-track positions and should have a separate set of  guidelines for evaluation and

            promotion.  It was MSC (11y,0n) to approve the Evaluation Guidelines and Procedures for Research

            Faculty.

 

E.         Regarding web-based courses and their ownership, Nancy Griffin from the library volunteered

            to see what other universities are doing about faculty rights to web-based courses, etc. 

            She will bring this information to the next meeting.  Council members were also requested to

            discuss this with colleagues and bring that information to the next meeting.  This issue is currently

            being discussed in the Technology Oversight Council and by the Council for Teaching and Learning.

 

F.      Cindy Wilson informed the Research Coordinating Council that the Graduate Council is discussing

         “conditional” status of graduate students.  When these students are classified as conditional, they

         are not eligible for federal funding--neither financial aid  nor assistance from federal grants.  The

         Graduate Council is considering adding another student category.  The consensus is that the status

         should be changed, if possible, to make these students eligible for funding.

 

            The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.