Policy Statement 3507

a.    The Faculty Research committee is a standing committee responsible for allocating budgeted funds to support research activities of faculty members in their respective disciplines.

b.    The committee consists of two faculty members from each College and one faculty member from the library, with at least two members having served the previous year. Representatives from a College must be from different departments within the College. The Chief Academic Officer will appoint the committee members. No committee member may serve more than two consecutive terms.

c.    The term of service of each committee member will be two years with four committee members appointed one year and five appointed the alternate year to provide for continuity.

d.    The Chief Academic Officer will call the first meeting of the Committee no later than September 15 of each academic year.

e.    The Committee will elect a Chair at its first meeting. The chair will have served on the committee the previous year and will serve as an ex-officio member of the committee the following year in an advisory capacity.

a.    The deadline for proposals will be October 30. Announcements of awards will take place by November 30. If funds remain, the Committee may set an additional deadline for proposals.

b.    Announcement of the Call for Applications will be made on the Faculty-Staff Listserve, the Faculty Research Committee Web page and through each Department office.

c.    Applications are available on the Committee Web page or from each Department office. Applications must be submitted using this form to be considered.

d.    Faculty members must submit ten copies of their Faculty Research Grant Application to the Chief Academic Officer who will forward the application to the Committee. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

e.    Applications will be reviewed by all members of the Committee for conformity with principles of sound research, creative activities, or other work.

f.      After review of the applications, the Committee will meet to vote upon acceptance of the proposals. At this time, the personal appearance of the faculty member may be requested, if necessary, to clarify any questions about an application.

g.    The Committee will vote on the funding amounts for each application and reserves the right to award lesser amounts than requested to meet the money budgeted for disbursement by the Committee.

h.    After all applications are reviewed and voted on, the Chair of the Committee will prepare a memorandum to the Chief Academic Officer who will write letters to the faculty members submitting proposals indicating the action of the committee.

a. Applications not eligible for funding:

1.      Publication charges for papers, articles or books
2.      Expenses for attendance at professional meetings
3.      Research, creative activity, or other work to be submitted by the faculty member as part of a degree requirement
4.      Work by students or others without substantial involvement by the faculty member
5.      A commercial venture
6.      Research with no potential for scholarly publication or utilization
7.      Work intended solely to improve the teaching skills or resources of the faculty.

b. Awards are made under the following conditions:

1.     Funds awarded must be expended or at least encumbered during the fiscal year in which the award is made.
2.     Paid assistants must be MUW students.
3.    University travel regulations apply, and foreign travel must be approved by IHL Board.
4.    All requisitions originate in the office of the Chief Academic Officer.
5.    Funds not expended or consumed during the project period revert to the Faculty Research fund.
6.    Research funds must be used or encumbered prior to June 30 of the fiscal year in which the funds are awarded. Funds for salaries may be allocated for summers only of which one-half will be disbursed on June 30 and the remainder at the completion of the project.
7.    If the funded research results in a publication, acknowledgement of the assistance given by the University for the project must be made.
8.    Commodities such as books, tools and laboratory equipment purchased with University funds to aid in the research project become the property of the University. Any non-consumable items purchased with grant funds shall be surrendered to the department chair upon completion of the project. Products resulting from University funded research projects, excluding publications, become the property of the University.

a.    Research grant recipients are required to submit a final report at the conclusion of the research project using the Faculty Research Fund Final Report form.

b.    Ten copies of the final report (or an interim progress report for long-term projects) must be submitted to the Chief Academic Officer by October 1 of the fiscal year following the award. The Chief Academic Officer will forward them to the Committee.

c.    The Committee will review the report to determine the status of the project and its conformity to the approved proposal.

d.    The Committee will prepare an evaluation of the final report of the research project that will be forwarded to the Chief Academic Officer. The Committee’s evaluation report will be shared with the recipient and will be used in considering future research applications submitted by the individual.

e.    Should the Committee, during its review, find evidence of possible misconduct in research, it should inform the Chief Academic Officer and initiate an inquiry under the procedures outlined in PS #1311 Misconduct in Research.

TITLE:	Faculty Research Committee
AUTHOR:	Chief Academic Officer/Faculty Research Committee
APPROVAL DATE:	November 28, 2005
EFFECTIVE DATE:	November 28, 2005
PURPOSE:	To define the functions of the Faculty Research Committee and to set guidelines for use of faculty research funds.
REVIEWER AND	Chief Academic Officer/Faculty Research Committee
REVIEW DATE:	Fall 2006 and every five years thereafter
OPERATING DETAILS: