The Challenges and Triumphs of
Supporting Research at Small to
Midsized Research Institutions
Anne Agee – University of Massachusetts Boston
Theresa Rowe – University of Oakland
Melissa Woo – University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
David Woods – Miami University
Oct. 13, 2010
© Anne Agee, Theresa Rowe, Melissa Woo, and David Woods. The text of this article is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 license.
Miami University
•
Enrollment: 22,000 (86% undergraduate)
• Research and Grant Funding: $16 million (FY09)
• Special Characteristics:
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Uses a teacher scholar model that encourages
undergraduate involvement in research
Strong focus on undergraduate education with graduate
programs in select areas
Oakland University (Michigan)
•
Enrollment: 18,000
• Research and Grant Funding: $12 million
• Special Characteristics:
•
•
Supports undergraduate research experience
Opening a medical school
University of Massachusetts Boston
•
Enrollment: 15,000
• Research and Grant Funding: $50 million (FY10)
• Special Characteristics:
•
Sees its research enterprise as a vital part of its urban
mission, with a focus on “use-inspired basic research”
that will benefit local communities and industries.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
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Enrollment: 30,000
• Research and Grant Funding: $38.4 million (FY10)
• Special Characteristics:
•
Demonstrates a strong organization around a growing
research enterprise
Challenges and Successes - Miami
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Challenges
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86% of enrollment is undergraduate
Only 12 doctoral programs
Leads to short time frames for research projects
Successes
•
•
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Strong relationships with a number of faculty.
Supporting a wide range of disciplines
Providing continuity to research programs without PhD
students
Challenges and Successes - Oakland
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Challenges
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•
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Very distributed decision-making
Long history of limited support resources
Closed datacenter
Successes
•
•
Open conversation with researchers
Located physics and chemistry computing clusters in
datacenter
Challenges and Successes – Univ. of
Massachusetts Boston
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Challenges
•
•
•
•
Long-neglected infrastructure
Lack of research support services in IT
Lack of information about research needs
Successes
•
•
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University Research Plan
Data center/network enhancement
Survey on faculty research needs
Library resources
Information Security Council
Challenges and Successes – University of
Wisconsin - Milwaukee
•
Challenges
•
Research has not previously been the campus focus
•
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•
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Culture
Funding
Support services
Successes
•
Level of extramural research funding has increased
• New faculty with research emphasis recruited
• Resource challenges encourage better collaboration
Resources
•
EDUCAUSE Research Mission Support
constituent group
• “Building Research Cyberinfrastructure at
Small/Medium Research Institutions” – Educause
Quarterly Vol. 33 No. 3 (2010).
• ECAR studies – “Higher Education IT and
Cyberinfrastructure,” “IT Engagement in
Research”
• EDUCAUSE Review – Cyberinfrastructure issue
(Vol. 43, No. 4, July/August 2008)
•
Resources
Sandra Braman, “What Do Researchers Need?
Higher Education IT from the Researcher’s
Perspective”, ECAR Occasional Paper, Issue 1,
2006.
• Internet2, “Cyberinfrastructure” – internet2.edu/ci
• National Science Foundation,
“Cyberinfrastructure: A Special Report”
•
Resources
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Anne Agee – [email protected]
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Theresa Rowe – [email protected]
•
•
CIO, Oakland University
Melissa Woo – [email protected]
•
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Vice Provost and CIO, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Acting Chief Operating Officer, University IT Services, University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
David Woods – [email protected]
•
Assistant Director for Research Computing, Miami University