Council on Research Meeting Minutes
December 12, 2011
Life Sciences Research Building, Conference Room 1143
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Members present: David Andersen, Berhane Araia, James Castracane, Vishnu Chaturvedi,
Tracey Chen, Samantha Friedman, Elizabeth Gaffney, Robert Gluck, Dan Keyser, Elaine Lasda-
Bergman, David Lewis, Brian Macherone, and Charles Scholes.
Members absent: Michael Amrozowicz, James A. Dias,and Hemalata Iyer
Also attending: Thecla Philip, Theresa Walker, and Robert Webster
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Council Chair, James Castracane, at 11:35 am.
Minutes
A motion to accept the minutes was made by Berhane Araia, seconded by Dan Keyser. Motion carried.
Vice President for Research Report, Robert Webster, Associate Vice President for Research for James A. Dias
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UAlbany Strategic Plan
The Research Work Group continues to refine the goals for research. David Lewis is a member of the working group and added that the group has met twice to determine action steps for goals laid out. The group is now working on completing the matrix.

The University benefitted from the region’s first economic development grant:
The RNA Institute received $2M+ for creation of a biomedical translational research program and the East Campus received $1M for development of biotechnology core initiatives and also for collaboration with the Trudeau Institute.
Subcommittee Reports

Benevolent Review Committee – Samantha Friedman, Chair
The subcommittee recommended seven applicants for funding totaling $3,500. Samantha noted that one of the seven is pending receipt of information regarding the sample size.
The final decision for funding this student will be based on the response.
The subcommittee also decided to meet before the spring review to further discuss and determine ground rules for review and recommendations since most of the membership is new to this subcommittee.
A motion was made by David Lewis to accept the subcommittee’s recommendation; seconded by Vishnu Chaturvedi. Motion carried.

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Conference/Journal Support Award – Dan Keyser, Chair
The subcommittee recommended funding the one applicant at $2,500.
A motion was made by Elizabeth Gaffney to accept the subcommittee’s recommendation; seconded by Samantha Friedman. Motion carried.

FRAP – A Review
– Vishnu Chaturvedi, Chair
A meeting is scheduled for January 19, 2012 to review the fifteen (15) applications received for FRAP-A. The subcommittee will continue with the evaluation criteria used for the past two years which was based on NIH review. One primary reader and two secondary readers will be assigned; however, all members will vote. The template will be completed by the reviewers and forwarded to Janice Bogan by January 17, 2012.
Samantha Friedman pointed out that each college/school’s review should be taken into consideration. After further discussion, Chair Castracane summarized and suggested that the FRAP – A committee proceed as planned, but to also take into account the college/school’s review.
A discussion ensued regarding the overall decrease in applications, particularly FRAP applications. Salient points were as follows:
1) Priority is given to Assistant Professors, but there is now a dearth of Assistant
Professors.
2) Faculty who have successfully received grants may be perceived as not needing the funds.
3) Applications for all funding have decreased, which may be due in part to the psychology and impact of budget reductions; potential applicants may assume funds are not available.
4) Because of attrition, faculty may not have time to do the work required to submit an application.
5) Payoff – is it worthwhile in terms of dollars? Are funds sufficient?
6) How stable are the amounts? When was the last time the amounts changed?
7) Faculty in certain disciplines who receive FRAP-A are more likely to receive external funding. Faculty in the arts and humanities usually don’t receive FRAP-A; they are more likely to apply for and receive FRAP B which is not as much funding.
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Excellence in Research & Creative Activities – David Andersen, Chair
The subcommittee will make three recommendations for the UAlbany Excellence in
Research and Creative Activities Award and three nominations for the SUNY
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. A report is being forwarded to the Vice President for Research detailing nominees’ strengths and weaknesses and recommendations made to enhance the review process in the future.

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David summarized the recommendations made to the Vice President for Research to enhance the review process in the future:
1) The Committee is in favor of closely tying UAlbany awards to the Chancellor’s award.
2) Nomination packets are oftentimes not well written so may not be suited for SUNYwide nominations.
3) A pre-processing check list should be developed to flag problems early
4) There should be a clear description of how the criteria can be measured, e.g., citation counts, counts on number of students mentored
5) Nominators should be requested to write a statement commenting on the relative weights of the various criteria, e.g. in some disciplines more weight may be given to a book publication rather than a journal article.
6) The UAlbany excellence awards can be given at an earlier career stage than the
Chancellor’s award, and perhaps reserve the Chancellor’s award for more established records of research.
7) Conflict of interest should be addressed. In some cases, there was inappropriate advocacy during the discussion.
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Researchers Liaison – Berhane Araia and Katy Gonder, Co-Chairs
The committee has met and there are two items that need further discussion before the final recommendation is developed and presented to the Vice President for Research: 1)
What is the amount of the University’s excellence award? Janice will forward this information to the co-chairs) (ACTION ITEM) 2) Is the award for teaching faculty only or should research associates be included?
A draft proposal will be prepared and presented at the next Council on Research meeting.
ACTION ITEM
Old Business
None
New Business
None
Meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm
Submitted by Janice E. Bogan