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Supporting Faculty Research: Opportunities and Challenges at Montana State University

This document outlines the support available for faculty research at Montana State University's College of Letters and Science. It covers departmental expectations, funding opportunities, grant-writing support, and the impact of grants on research across various disciplines. The Office of Sponsored Programs provides resources for start-up funds, travel grants, and professional development opportunities. Challenges include communication issues between faculty and administration, support service needs for social science researchers, and difficulties in securing research space. The document serves as a resource for faculty navigating research funding and support systems.

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Supporting Faculty Research: Opportunities and Challenges at Montana State University

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  1. Dean’s Office Support for Faculty Research CCAS 2010 New Orleans, LA Paula M. Lutz, Dean College of Letters and Science Montana State University; Bozeman

  2. Montana State University Bozeman, MT

  3. MSU-Bozeman: Institutional Information • Research expectations—set by departments a. sciences—grant-funded laboratory by tenure, grad students trained and peer-reviewed publications; oral presentations or posters at professional meetings b. letters—dissertation  monograph or peer-reviewed articles; presentation of papers at professional meetings • Office of Sponsored Programs: some centralized accounting and grant-writing support; OSP/VPR also provides start-up $ AND incentives (buyouts, Short Term Professional Development Leaves, annual research and creativity awards) • GRANTS ($109M in expenditures in FY10 campus-wide; $29M CLS) F&A  investment in research across all disciplines (start-up funds, $ for incentives and awards)

  4. Policies and opportunities for specific disciplines • Natural sciences: equipment purchases--grants (NSF MRI), foundations (Murdock Trust), and start-up funds; travel funds from grants and start-up packages; all start-up from VPR at present; equipment maintenance funded from F&A return • Social sciences: current emphasis provides grant-writing mentoring and seed grants (INBRE); travel funds available from Research Enhancement Awards (REA’s) in the College and Scholarship & Creativity grants campus-wide; course buyouts through BEST awards • Arts and humanities: travel funds available through REA and S&C; course buyouts through BEST awards

  5. MSU Opportunities • Research Enhancement Awards (REA) within the College: primarily for Letters; provide travel support for conferences; $75-100K from VPR and College F&A return (internal competition); • Buy-Out for Enhancing Scholarship and Teaching (BEST Awards): funded by VPR; competitive—15-20 per academic year; most often for Arts/Letters • Short-Term Professional Development Leaves (STPD’s): funded by VPR; funds longer research travel • Scholarship and Creativity Grants:funded by VPR; ($250k from central F&A funds via campus competition with external review); grants of $6k to 22k for lengthy, focused research projects/travel for Arts/Letters (such as summer research at an archive or an archeological dig) • Interdisciplinary Research/Creativity Proposals: up to $7.5K for ‘ID’ proposal development and submission • Montana Research and Commercialization Grants: Dept. of Commerce; $1.4M pool; requires 25% match

  6. Policies related to research support • Encouragement of proposal production and success: through New Faculty Forum, INBRE seed grants (special emphasis on social science research from NIH and NSF), internal seed grants for interdisciplinary research • Annual faculty awards honoring research and creativity: Creative Scholarship & Teaching; Meritorious Technology & Science; Undergraduate Research and Creativity Mentoring; Meritorious Research & Creativity • Research leaves: negotiable post-tenure under special circumstances; campus sabbatical policy through Faculty Senate process—10-12 per year; course reductions negotiated with start-up packages or through grant funds • Applied research, pedagogical research, community engagement: special emphasis on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research provides seed money at present; Teaching and Learning Center provides seed money for research in pedagogy; as a land grant, MSU has Extension as a CE link AND the Montana Agriculture Experiment Station (MAES) funding (primarily for the sciences)

  7. Obstacles/issues/challenges? • Research faculty/administration communication: a. Frustration over recent, sudden reductions in F&A return to colleges, departments, and PI’s; b. A new Research Board recently created as part of our new president’s faculty governance structure; c. Frustration over VPR, faculty, and deans’ sense that research F&A is used to backfill A&F shortfalls • Support services: social science researchers in departments just entering the chase for external funding have increasing needs for staff support; • Research space: Constant source of acrimony and discontent; negotiated in start-ups; expansions difficult; success in obtaining federal dollars for several buildings (USDA, NIH); self-funded one research building by bonding on future F&A returns;

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