Report of the Research Service and Faculty Development Committee for 9/19/02 Faculty Forum Meeting

Dwight Hahn, chair (hahn@jcu.edu)

The committee has not raised and has not been presented with issues apart from those arising from its work on the University Research and Service Committee (RS). As such, the committee has not met and I hope to rely on the use of a committee e-mail list to consider issues that arise from its participation on the RS committee. 

As faculty should know, most of the members of the forum committee (RSFD) become members of the university RS committee. Continuing a practice initiated by the previous RSFD chair, I would like to use the RSFD report to inform the faculty of issues regarding policy and procedure discussed at the university committee.

The RS committee, chaired by the Graduate Dean, has met once this semester. 

Items:

  1. The committee reviewed its procedures for the consideration of the Grauel Fellowship and the Summer Research Fellowship. The university committee wants to encourage faculty to discuss their proposals with member of the committee before submission. Though not acted on, one of the ideas discussed at the meeting was the appointment of an “expert” for each proposal. [As chair of the RSFD committee, I encourage faculty who have concerns/ideas regarding the fellowship proposal and RS recommendation process to talk with me or other members of the RSFD committee. Please see the document listing RSFD members who currently serve on the RS committee.] 
  2. The committee discussed its policy related to faculty requests for postponement of an awarded Grauel fellowship. While strongly in favor of allowing postponement to the next academic year, members expressed concern that postponed fellowships not decrease the number of fellowships that the administration would have otherwise newly awarded in the year that postponed (or carryover) Grauels are taken. 
  3. The issue of how/when members from the forum committee are selected for participation on the RS committee was raised at the meeting. The chair of the RSFD committee forwarded the policy declaration on selection to the chair of the RS committee. [Please see the document on Selection of Members to RS.]