University Research Council

April 21, 2009

Meeting Summary

Funding Trip

On Monday, April 20th, the Office of the Provost sponsored a series of briefing sessions with representatives of European embassies and organizations.  Thirty-five, University-affiliated faculty members and staff attended.  Representatives of the European Union, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK spoke.  The speakers provided information on discipline-specific research programs, agency contacts, and proposal review criteria.  They also discussed joint research and educational programs.

Report from the Office of Research

Allen DiPalma, Director of the Office of Research, discussed some of the challenges that his staff faced when dealing with stimulus-related proposals.  His office processed 572 such proposals, more than half of which were NIH RC1 Challenge Grants.  The staff encountered no problems submitting the proposals via Grants.gov.

Mr. DiPalma also mentioned:

  • The Office of Research will move to a new location in the University Club.
  • The University has negotiated a master agreement with the state of Pennsylvania.

Miscellaneous

Council members discussed several additional items:

  • Council members completed their reviews of the Multidisciplinary Small Grant white papers.  A group is now preparing a proposal.
  • Council members continue to review Central Research Development Fund proposals.  Review results are due by the next Council meeting.