Letter from the Chair
August 2011
Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to the website for the University of Missouri’s Research Board. The University is extremely fortunate to have a program to foster and encourage creative scholarship of its faculty on all four campuses through the competitively awarded research program administered by the Research Board.
Since it was founded in 1992, the Research Board has awarded some $54 million to promising and productive scholars in virtually every department on each of the four UM campuses. Over the past eight years, the Board has awarded approximately $2 million annually in research grants. We want to thank Interim President Stephen Owens’ office and Mike Nichols, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, for their strong support in maintaining these funds even in difficult economic times.
While the Board considers all types of research proposals, we are particularly interested in promoting the career development of our new, junior faculty and in facilitating exceptional initiatives of senior faculty who are expanding beyond their traditional areas of expertise. A significant criterion for support is the potential for funded projects to attract additional external research dollars, which is a “win-win” for the faculty member and the UM System. Members of the Board take great pride in the opportunities that have been provided to many researchers on the four campus system. Research Board grants have expanded intellectual development, stimulated external grant funding, provided support for graduate students and post-docs, enhanced laboratory facilities, supported conferences, assisted in book publication, and dramatic, musical, and artistic productions. A summary of proposal requests and awards is available here.
The 22 members of the Research Board are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines across all four campuses. They are responsible for soliciting reviews of applications, evaluating proposal quality, and making decisions concerning funding. The review process seeks the expertise of faculty and researchers from inside and outside the UM System to serve as peer reviewers. Such funding judgments cannot be made without the advice of you, as faculty. Your participation in this critical role is essential to the success of the efforts of the Board and your help in this process is greatly appreciated. I encourage you, if asked to review, to take the time to provide a solid, substantive review. Your detailed comments benefit your colleague, the principal investigator, regardless of funding decision.
The Research Board’s conflict-of-interest policy does not permit members to consult with applicants regarding specific proposals. However, the System officials responsible for Research Board proposals and awards (Ashley Wilson, Funding Programs Assistant) can be contacted with questions concerning proposal submissions and Board processes. Please follow the guidelines available on the UM Research Board website concerning the submission process.
We look forward to receiving your proposals and your reviews in order to support creative and exciting research efforts that benefit all of us within the University of Missouri System.
Sincerely,
Dr. Daryl Beetner
Chair, UM Research Board
Research Parks & Incubators
Office of Intellectual Property Administration
Funding Opportunities
Office of Research & Economic Development