Dean Kathleen Skerrett called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Brown-Alley Room of Weinstein Hall.
Ted Bunn moved approval of the minutes of the Arts and Sciences faculty meeting from November 8, 2012. Bill Ross seconded the motion and the faculty voted to approve. Ted Bunn moved approval of Academic Council Actions from November 13 and 27. Bill Ross seconded the motion and the faculty voted to approve.
Bill Myers asked about the wording in the November 8 meeting minutes about replacements for equipment (“Associate Dean Malcolm Hill is working with department chairs in the sciences to develop process for making recommendations on replacements or new equipment.”). Dean Skerrett noted in response that it both new acquisition and replacement of equipment to support the laboratories and classrooms of four science departments are within the permissible uses of the designated endowment.
Megan Zanella-Litke, Sustainability Coordinator, provided a “Green Office” presentation to the faculty. She discussed sustainability efforts at the university, including the history, accomplishments and various programs. The Arts and Sciences Dean’s office has joined the “Green Office” program and Megan encouraged all academic departments to contact her for more details on establishing a program in their respective areas. The dean encouraged departments to participate in the program.
Lori Schulyer, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, provided an overview of the UR Summer Fellowship Program. This new initiative builds upon several foundational programs, such as the Arts and Sciences Summer Student Research Fellowships, Jepson Summer Research Grants, Burruss Fellowship Internships, etc. Lori explained that these programs will be embraced by the new initiative, so that students can access them through one common application portal for summer fellowships. This will streamline the process for students and allow them to rank their priority opportunities. This new approach will also increase the number of opportunities for students. Lori noted that the various program directors have created a common set of guidelines for the application process. Students who have not had any summer experience will be given priority consideration for the Spider Summer Fellowships. She also emphasized that these summer experiences are not credit-bearing. Lori reported that the Office of Advancement has raised seven million dollars for summer fellowships from generous donors and alums. Lori then opened up the floor to questions from faculty.
Carol Parrish expressed enthusiasm for the program and asked about the number of awards. Lori replied that the total number of awards through the President’s office this year is anticipated to be 122, which includes research and internships opportunities for undergraduates across the schools. The School of Arts & Sciences will fund another 91, and principal investigators on many external grants will contribute another 95.
John Gupton asked about eligibility in the application process. Lori stated than any traditional, continuing undergraduate may apply for program through the common portal. She recognizes that as the new program commences, student demand will exceed supply. It will be important to quantify demand so that we can approach donors with an accurate depiction of our needs. Nonetheless, in summer 2013, there will be many more awards from central funding than last year because of generous philanthropy.
Jon Dattelbaum asked about the demand for internships and Lori replied that there will be brisk ompetition in the coming year. Michelle Hamm asked about the 122 fellowships from the President’s office, and Lori replied that they will only be used for Spider fellowships and internships through centrally available funds. Students may also apply directly for funding to A & S, for example, and those applications will be forwarded to the specific committee, program or faculty member who administers that program.
Lori stated that some donors have restricted their gifts to particular types of experiences and that we will need to consider that impact. She emphasized that all opportunities will be on the table collectively and that April 1 is the latest date that students and faculty will be notified of decisions. She recognizes that it will be an imperfect process this year and that we will collectively evaluate the process as we develop the program.
Eugene Wu asked: How many professors will be needed to sustain such programs in the long-term? Lori replied that the university will try to support all guaranteed opportunities through central resources, but if a school has a stipend for research, that process will also be supported. As it has been in the past, faculty will approve and evaluate all applications and this process will carefully consider the amount of time that faculty have for supporting students.
David Salisbury commented that many students are interested in international projects and study. How will the costs of international travel be considered in the application process? Lori replied that the awards are a flat rate and the process does not take travel into consideration yet. He asked if an outside agency/institution provides partial funding for a student, will that help or hinder a student when they are applying for partial support? Lori indicated that the university would be willing to top off the total grant amount for a successful applicant. However, this guideline could be revisited as we go through the process.
April Hill asked: How will the university assess the funding process and the experiences of students? Lori stated that program directors have built in assessments, such as self-evaluation, site evaluation, site supervisor evaluation. Career Services has also developed assessment tools for both internships and research experiences.
Uliana Gabara asked: If, when the awards are made, does one consider where the students will be living or located? Lori replied that they have wrestled with this question and that is difficult to assess the relative cost of the different locales. She emphasized that assessing student financial need is not part of the process.
Bill Myers noted that some international students must have some academic credit due to their VISA status. Lori is aware of this requirement and it will be evaluated in the process. The university, however, does not want to jeopardize the federal financial aid eligibility of any student and that is why such experiences cannot be credit-bearing. She also stated that for research students who live on campus during the summer, they will continue to receive $50.00 per week to assist with housing costs.
Carol Parrish asked about funding for “repeat” students. Lori noted that central funding is prioritized for first time applicants. Associate Dean Vincent Wang is the Arts and Sciences representative and he has been working on various plans and budgets of how to fund “repeat” students within Arts and Sciences.
Angie Hilliker asked: If a student had prior external funding, will he or she still be considered a first time applicant? Lori replied that the general objective is to give everyone an opportunity. How to fund “repeat” students is important and she is willing to continue that conversation.
Dean Skerrett commented that we recognize the need to fund “repeat” students and that we are building information on such students. She and Vincent are gathering data to forecast budget needs for undergraduate researches within Arts and Sciences. This year, the Dean is adding eleven awards from the Dean's Annual Fund from donations raised by December 31, 2012. She stated thatwe can use external grants and A & S funds to support students who pursue progressive research experiences over two or more summers.
Mike Leopold asked about funding “repeaters” from external grants and Dean Skerrett encouraged this approach as well as using department endowed funds and discretionary funds. Then A & S can refer some first-time undergraduate research applicants to the central administration’s program.
Malcolm Hill asked if there are quotas within the Spider Research Funds. Lori responded that the only quotas might be associated with restricted gifts. Some of the donor funds are restricted to internships. Again, requests and applications will be tracked to follow what students demand.
Carol Parrish encouraged Arts and Sciences and the university to pursue an entrepreneurial approach in seeking matching funds. Lori agreed and emphasized that the university is working hard to seek entrepreneurial opportunities. The Annual Fund is currently built around raising funds for summer fellowships.
Bill Myers asked about the question marks next to the URC awards. Vincent Wang observed that we do not yet know how many award will be funded this year because the proposals are not yet due. We have budgeted 91.
Dean Skerrett shared her enthusiasm for this very exciting program and reminded the faculty that we will learn quite a bit in this first year of how to coordinate A & S undergraduate summer research program with the Richmond Summer Fellowships in the best manner possible for our students.
Dean Skerrett expressed her appreciation to the faculty for their questions and discussion. The meeting was adjourned at 5:23 p.m. The next Arts and Sciences faculty meeting will be held February 14, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., in Weinstein Hall, Brown-Alley Room.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucretia McCulley
