Council on Research Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Life Sciences R ch Buildii Conference Room 1143
2pm-4pm
Members present: Ilham AlMahamid, Indushoba Chengalur-Smith, Aiguo Dai,
James Dias, Lisa Donohue, Keith Earle, Vladimir Ermolenkov, Kajal Lahiri, Klil
Neori
Members absent: Patrick Nold, Ian Tucker
Also attending: Theresa Walker
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Council on Research Chair, Kajal Lahiri, at
2:07pm.
Approval of Meeting Minutes from March 30, 2015
The minutes were reviewed and approved with one abstention.
Report of the Vice President for Research, James A. Dias
The Vice President for Research gave the Council an update on the Presidential
Initiatives Fund for Research and Scholarship, advising that he had met with the
President earlier that day and the announcement of the selected recipients would
be going out shortly. There was a brief discussion around bringing COR into
developing the process as it’s integrated into the other support efforts of the
university.
There was also a brief discussion about the effectiveness of the FRAP program as
currently administered. Action: a report will be prepared within the VPR office
reflecting the outcomes of the FRAP program over the last several years for
discussion at the next COR meeting.
Subcommittee Reports
1. Conference/Journal Support Awards Review committee- chair Aiguo Dai
The subcommittee received an additional request for funds from a project
which was partially approved last year.
In the Fall 2013 round of funding, COR approved funding in the amount of
$1,500 for a proposal that requested $2,500, requesting additional justification
for stipends which were proposed to be paid to SUNY faculty from other
institutions within the system to enable them to attend the proposed
conference. After some discussion, the committee was recommending providing
the additional funding to the conference organizers, as it was a standard
practice for conference organizers to pay similar stipends in certain fields.
Pagel
The Council reviewed the documents which were submitted and had a thorough
discussion of the recommendation. Concerns were voiced that there was still
insufficient information provided as to what exactly the stipends were for (or if
they were in fact honoraria or travel expenses) and why they were necessary
for the success of the conference. The Council voted in the majority against
approving the committee’s recommendation to fund the additional $1,000 for
the conference.
2. FRAP subcommittee report- chair Keith Earle
The subcommittee were recently informed that one of the Pls selected for the
FRAP A award in the Fall 2014 round of funding has accepted a move
elsewhere and will no longer be eligible to receive their FRAP award. As the
award period has not yet started, with the approval of the Vice President for
Research the subcommittee returned to the applications and determined that
the most fair and equitable way to proceed was to award the next person on the
ranking list the funds which were now available.
This recommendation was put to the Council and unanimously approved.
New Business
1. Conference Award guidelines revision
The committee also proposed a revision to the conference application
guidelines specifically requesting an explanation within the budget justification
for why a stipend was being paid. The Council voiced concerns that people
might read it as suggesting that they pay participants stipends; it was agreed
that it was best to keep the guidelines as they stood. Full and appropriate
justification should be provided for every expense within the budget to show
why the expenses were necessary for the success of the conference. The
Council voted in the majority against approving the subcommittee’s
recommendation to change the guidelines.
2. FRAP guidelines revision.
At the March meeting, the issue was raised that the budget page of the FRAP
application package allows for computer equipment purchases with special
justification; however, the front page specifically states that “project funds
may not be expended for the purchase or maintenance of office or computer
equipment (with the exception of some software packages)”. It was suggested
that the front page be amended to reflect that some computer equipment may
be purchased with special justification, to bring it into line with the budget
page requirements. After some discussion, the following amendment was
proposed:
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The FRAP award is to be used to support the direct costs of
research. Examples of supportable projects include
laboratory experiments, field studies, artistic projects, and
humanistic/scholarly endeavors. There is no provision for
summer faculty salary or stipend, and project funds may not
be expended for the purchase or maintenance of office er
computer equipment Gith+h
packages) or for travel to conferences. Sate sei on some
types of computer equipment and software packages which
are a direct cost of research may be considered if special
justification is provided. In considering possible award levels,
review bodies will evaluate the overall resource needs of the
project and the viability of the project should it be
recommended for only partial support.
The Council voted unanimously to approve the above amendment to the text of
the FRAP guidelines.
3. GSA Undergraduate Research proposal
A proposal was put forward to promote research and experiential learning for
undergraduates by involving graduate student advisors for undergraduate
researchers, creating lines similar to TA lines for grad student advisors. It was
generally agreed that the proposal would be reviewed with an opportunity for
comment at the next meeting. It was also suggested that the proposal could be
shared with the committee on Undergraduate Research which the Vice
President for Research co-convenes with Dr. Jeanette Altaribba, Vice Provost
for Undergraduate Education.
Concerns were also raised in relation to training undergraduate students in lab
safety, particularly in Life Sciences, Chemistry etc. It was put forward that
students participating in undergraduate research should be required to
participate in mandatory training.
Meeting adjourned 3:23pm
Submitted by Elizabeth Rooks
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