Webster University is a student-focused, tuition-driven institution that values teaching and academic excellence. The transformation from a traditionally teaching-heavy culture to a balanced teaching and research culture requires institutional level changes. Historically, Webster has emphasized teaching excellence but not research productivity, though that is changing with a new administration. The growing emphasis on faculty research, a new endowed professorship in biological sciences, and the imminent construction of an interdisciplinary science building make this an ideal time to formalize research administration and expand research productivity at Webster. Our objective is to build a sustained Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) that serves and supports the faculty in competing for external funding. This will require development of an ORSP and faculty initiatives to meet these goals, with the following Aims.
Aim 1 : Develop the new Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), currently the Corporate Foundation and Government Relations (CFGR), to encourage and support externally funded research. This includes enhancing administration through ongoing training in research administration for grants officers and in accounting from NIH and NCURA.
Aim 2 : Review and reorganize institutional policies to remove barriers and incentivize the pursuit of external research funding by faculty. This will include setting research as a new priority and reviewing hiring, tenure, and promotion policies to encourage and give credit for a balance of teaching and research. We will explore new incentive structures and review and clarify policies for support of faculty time devoted to developing and managing research grants.
Aim 3 : Develop faculty research productivity for successful pursuit of external research funding and increase research grant activity. We will promote and provide increased training in grant writing and research methodology. We will designate a Faculty Research Director who will be Faculty Advisor to the new ORSP with responsibilities to provide faculty mentoring around research, publishing, and grant writing. The student body has 38% under-represented minorities and 55% females in STEM and biomedical areas, demonstrating that Webster University has also been successful in recruiting and retaining underrepresented students. Increasing the research productivity of Webster faculty will provide increased opportunities for underrepresented students to participate in behavioral and biomedical research with a greater likelihood that they choose careers in those areas. We propose to provide training to faculty in grant writing, cultivate undergraduate researchers, and balance expectations for teaching, research, and service that will support incentives for promoting and attaining external grant funding. With this BRAD application, we strongly believe that Webster University is ideally positioned to make the transition to increased research and external funding, while promoting opportunities for under-represented minority students to be a critical part of STEM, biomedical, and behavioral research.
This BRAD proposal to build research administrative capacity and oversight will provide the basis for an improved research infrastructure at Webster University. This will require development of an ORSP, and faculty incentives, to achieve these goals. The results will include improved faculty recruitment and a stronger educational and research experience for Webster's diverse student body.
