Research/Creative Activities Committee Charge

Faculty Senate Resolution #23-50, October 2023

1. Name: Research/Creative Activities Committee
2. Membership: 14 elected faculty members.
   Ex-officio members (with vote): The Provost or an appointed representative, the Chair of the Faculty and one faculty senator selected by the Chair of the Faculty. The membership of the committee shall serve according to their disciplinary expertise, with diverse disciplinary representation from across the University. Each member shall have demonstrated accomplishment in research, and/or creative activity.
   The chair of the committee may invite resource persons as necessary to realize the committee charge. The chair of the committee may appoint such subcommittees as they deem necessary.
3. Quorum: 8 elected members exclusive of ex-officio.
4. Committee Responsibilities:
   1. The committee considers matters related to the scholarly activity of the University, including at least the following:
      1. Activities to improve and promote professional scholarly productivity of faculty members;
      2. Procedures and policies governing research and/or creative activities;
      3. Any proposed changes in existing policies affecting research and creative activities of faculty members of the University.
   2. The committee recommends the funding of meritorious internal research/creative activity proposals from funds allocated to the committee by the office of Research, Economic Development and Engagement.
      1. The committee shall solicit proposals for research/creative activities from eligible faculty, provided that funding is expected to be available.
      2. The committee shall review and recommend the funding of meritorious proposals.
      3. Each year, the committee shall collect and review reports of research/creative activities from any award recipients from the previous 3 years.
      4. Members of the committee are not permitted to submit proposals.
   3. The committee reviews and decides if an application for the research intensive (RI) designation meets the criteria set forth for RI courses as described in the definition for RI and decision matrix.
      1. The committee periodically reviews existing Research Intensive course offerings and recommends, as appropriate, changes to the course RI status in order to ensure that the Student Learning Outcomes for the RI criteria are being met.
5. To Whom The Committee Reports: The committee reports its recommendations from these considerations to either the Faculty Senate or the appropriately charged university standing committee. The committee reports its recommendations for funding of meritorious internal research/creative activity proposals from funds allocated to the committee by the office of Research, Economic Development and Engagement. The office of Research, Economic Development and Engagement reports the final list of funded proposals to the Faculty Senate.
   The committee makes recommendations concerning the policies and procedures governing research/creative activity grant proposals to the Faculty Senate.
6. How Often The Committee Reports: The committee reports to the Faculty Senate at least once a year and at other times as necessary.
7. Power Of The Committee To Act Without Faculty Senate Approval: The committee is empowered to make recommendations regarding the funding of research proposals.
8. Standard Meeting Time: The committee will establish a standard meeting schedule at its first meeting of the academic year.