Mission and General Purpose
Centers, institutes, or laboratories (CILs) are organized units devoted to research, scholarly and creative activities.
CILs are developed and require approval by cognizance college administrators and the Faculty Senate according to the following criteria below:
• A diverse group of faculty who’s shared concern is the visibility and focus on a particular subject area.
• A critical mass of expertise in a subject area to demonstrate command of related knowledge and for
the purpose of attracting external funding.
• Centralized responsibility for costly equipment required for effective research, scholarly and creative
activities in a particular subject area.
• A coherent management system for faculty from different departments and colleges engaged in
interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research, scholarly and creative activities.
• Greater opportunities for students to become aware of methods of studying complex problems.
Guidelines and Procedure
To sustain the mission and purpose of previously approved CILs, a review is conduct by the Research and Arts
Committee at a minimum of every five years with the specific review year determined by the committee. Under certain circumstances, and at the discretion of the committee, more frequent reviews may be required.
Approximately seven to nine CILs are reviewed each academic year.
The review is a self-study report, submitted by the CIL to, and at the request of, the Research and Arts Committee.
In most cases, the only requirement of the unit is the report’s preparation and submission. The document consists of the following sections based on the above mentioned criteria that are directly related to the activities of the CIL during the preceding five-year period in the order as listed below.
Section 1. A two-page executive summary that includes: a. the mission statement, goals and functions of the unit. Provide an explanation if the goals and/or functions have changed since the original approval or the last self-study report; b. a summary of the unit’s effectiveness in reaching its goals and fulfilling its functions; and c. what the leadership envisions the unit being in five years.
Section 2. Please provide a list of only those directly related with the CIL: a. awards, publications, and/or b. scholarly or creative productivity; and c. proposals externally submitted under the unit’s name and their current status.
explanation if departmental or college resources were provided to further the activities of the unit
(i.e., reduced class load, summer appointments, assistantships, start-up costs, administrative support, travel funding, equipment funding, space, etc.).
Section 4. Additional Information a. list of those associated with the unit:
(1) graduate students,
(2) postdoctoral appointments,
(3) visiting scientists, and/or scholars, and/or artists. b. list of those not associated with the unit using its services and resources:
(1) WSU employees and their departments; and
(2) non-WSU people and their company or association. c. An organizational flow chart (when applicable include the following unit support positions)
(1) leadership positions directly supported by the unit,
(2) indirect administrative positions,
(3) technical services positions, and/or
(4) other positions. (over)

The Research and Arts Committee evaluates the self-study report and will approve the continued operation of the
CIL if it satisfactorily supports the current mission statement. If approval is granted, that action will be communicated to the Faculty Senate with the original document and approval notice to be filed in the senate office.
The CIL’s director and responsible dean or lead dean will also be notified.
In certain cases, when there are serious questions about the function and/or activities of a CIL, one or more representatives of the unit may be asked to appear before the Research and Arts Committee to address the members’ concerns. In addition, the Research and Arts Committee may require additional documentation, testimony, and/or other evidence it deems necessary for an adequate review of that unit.
If it is the conclusion of the Research and Arts Committee that a CIL under review has been seriously deficient in fulfilling its functions and/or reaching its goals, the committee can make specific recommendations for improvements with the understanding that the unit will be reviewed again in one year. If the committee recommends discontinuation of the CIL the Faculty Senate leadership’s counsel will be sought. It will be at the discretion of the sena te’s Steering Committee’s to determine if the recommendation is accepted out right or brought before the senate members for discussion and vote
Approved by the Faculty Senate - 10/15/96
Revised - 03/01/01
Revised - 01/23/02
Revised - 02/12/10
Revised - 02/17/11
Revised - 01/2315