Run to R1 Town Hall 2023

R1 Town Hall Q&A Recap

What efforts are being expended to support research faculty? 

President Damphousse created the Division of Research (formerly the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs) in January 2023 to lead the Run to R1. The division is in the process of reorganizing to better support faculty research. Existing and new personnel will be aligned into three functional areas: Research Operations, Research Development, and Research Innovation.
 
Research Operations will provide direct support to faculty with pre- and post-award sponsored programs and ensure research compliance with Federal and State law and TSUS requirements. Research Development will work with faculty in developing research proposals for submissions to external funding agencies. Research Innovation will aim to protect, market, and monetize faculty’s intellectual property via patents and trademarks. The overarching principle of the divisional reorganization is quality customer service, with faculty being the division’s key customers. The division will share updates as the reorganization progresses. 

Will TXST allocate funding for faculty travel to present research at premier conferences? 

The Division of Research plans to redeploy a portion of the Research Accelerator funds to support research conference travel. To make judicious use of these funds, which originate from indirect costs charged to successful grant awards obtained by faculty, the division will expect matches from the department and college level.

Will the Faculty Innovation Accelerator Program continue next academic year? 

The Division of Research will continue to evaluate the success of the program and hopes to continue it next year.

The Division of Research is offering workshops designed to help faculty members commercialize their innovations and deploy them to solve real-world problems. The Faculty Innovation Accelerator Program (FIAP) includes cohorts in May and June to guide faculty in assessing the viability of their ideas in the marketplace. While the program grew out of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps training process, FIAP also covers intellectual property basics and TXST policies and patenting processes. In the program’s first three months, TXST faculty have generated four invention disclosures, which is a remarkable achievement. Learn more about the program in the TXST Newsroom. 

How is the fringe rate determined for grant-funded positions? 

The Division of Research has implemented a uniform fringe rate for all full-time grant-funded positions. For more information, review Institutional Facts and Information from the Division of Research. 

Will a better procedure around compensating research participants be developed? 

In collaboration with the Division of Finance and Support Services, the Division of Research is piloting a system with researchers in the College of Applied Arts. In the pilot, PIs are issued purchase cards to procure gift cards for research study participants. Following a successful pilot over the Summer of 2023, we will expand this system to all researchers at TXST.