New Academic Policy Intends to Strengthen Research Centers

The University of Arkansas has established a policy intended to strengthen academic research centers and institutes on the Fayetteville campus.

Under the policy, the university’s existing centers and all future centers will be subject to an evaluation as part of a review that will take place every five years. The document also establishes a funding system that will assist centers with financial support.

“Centers and institutes at the University of Arkansas were established to provide research and service to the campus, region, state and nation,” said Jim Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development. “This policy allows the campus research centers and institutes to realize their potential for strengthening the university’s overall educational mission.”

Each center and institute at the U of A has affiliated faculty and staff who conduct research and define the center’s expertise. Many centers and institutes are also homes to important equipment and research infrastructure that are shared by the faculty and staff. The collaborative nature of the center and institute and the unique equipment and infrastructure available provide a strong environment for research and service.

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board will continue to grant final approval for the establishment of centers and institutes at the university, Rankin said.

To increase the accountability of centers, the office of the vice provost for research and economic development will conduct a review of the center every five years. The review is needed to ensure the viability and need for continuation of the center.

“At a review period, if the center has become inactive, we could terminate the center,” Rankin said.

Centers are expected to secure their own funding to maintain their viability. The sources include grants and contracts, charitable gifts, internal awards and internal sources.

The policy addresses the one source of internal funding: research incentive funds, which are collected through indirect costs reimbursed on a sponsored grant or contract. Under the policy, each center’s research incentive fund account will receive 20 percent of the indirect costs reimbursed to the university on each grant or contract.

Interdisciplinary centers and institutes that operate across several colleges report to the vice provost for research and economic development. Centers and institutes that operate primarily within a college report to the college dean or to a department chair.

The policy outlines the required elements of a proposal for a center, including the unique value of the program to the university, the identification of faculty or other personnel that will be involved with the center, student involvement, and the description of administrative control and lines of authority for the center.

The policy also requires each center to have an advisory board comprised of internal faculty and administrators and external representatives.

The official list of the university’s centers and institutes can be found on the vice provost for research and economic development’s page on the university research center website.