Attendees: Bill Blass, Chair, Jim Adcock, Debora Baldwin, David Bemis, Ham Bozdogan, Chris
Cox, David Dobbs, Pat Fisher, Zoe Hoyle, Kim Jensen, Paula Kaufman, Michael Keene, Ron Maples,
Sue Mettlen, Kula Misra, Ben Oliver, Ted Paludan, Steve Pulik, Flora Shrode, Dwight Teeter, Ken
Walker, Carolyn Webb, Jodie Wehr and Gail White.
Guest: Ramsey Valentine, Director of Strategic Planning, Information Infrastructure
NOTE: The next Research Council meeting will be held Monday, November 11 at 3:30 p.m. in
the 8th Floor Board Room, Andy Holt Tower.
Comments by Bill Blass: Blass introduced Sue Mettlen, Vice Chancellor, Information Infrastructure
to the Research Council. Blass announced that Ramsey Valentine, Director of Strategic Planning,
Information Infrastructure would make a presentation to the group on Lotus Notes.
Comments by Ken Walker: Walker stated that he received comments concerning the new "yellow
sheet". The yellow sheet will be finalized very soon and any additional comments can be directed to
Walker. Walker stated that there have been complaints about the length of time it takes for a document
to be processed in the Office of Research. Proposals require three working days to be processed and
contracts require ten working days since they are more complicated. The Office of Research will track
paperwork in the office and will provide feedback to PI's on the status of their proposals and grants and
contracts.
Comments by Zoe Hoyle: Hoyle announced that she has received the figures for the Annual Report
and hopes that the report will be ready in a month. Information for the Biennial Review has been
received from the Associate Deans for Research and drafts will be provided to the Special Projects and
Public Relations Committees for review.
Comments by Kim Jensen: Jensen announced that the Special Projects Committee has created a link
from the Research Council Home page to a listing of UTK Research Council Web Awards. These
resources were chosen because they give a good representation of research. She also stated that both
the Special Projects and Public Relations Committees will assist Hoyle in choosing the articles for the
Biennial Review. Another project the subcommittee is working on is a lecture series.
Comments by Mike Keene: Keene distributed a Center Review Schedule to members. Paludan
asked for a list of the centers that will be reviewed this academic year. Anyone who would like a list of
these centers can contact Mary Hunsberger in OR. Walker stated that there are approximately 90
centers, bureaus, and institutes. The majority of these centers are now official.
Indirect Cost Update by Walker: Walker announced that Indirect Costs are now called Facilities and
Administration Costs (F&A). A list of reasons why the Office of Research approves cost-sharing on
F&A costs was distributed. Walker stated that F&A costs are important to the University. The past
two fiscal years earned approximately $9.8M each year in F&A costs. Walker is working with
departments to bring F&A rates in their proposals to the federally audited rate since this money could
be used to offset budget problems in other entities. F&A cost recoveries have increased from 15% to
21% because of tighter controls by OR. On another front, Cox stated that if there is a large decrease in
indirect costs the University would see many people getting laid off.
Research Infrastructure Committee Discussion: Bozdogan is the Chair of the Research
Infrastructure Committee and asked what, specifically, is the charge of this group. What is the
rationale for this committee and its three subcommittees (High Performance Computing, Desktop
Services, and Access Services)? The RI committee should determine research infrastructure needs and
also determine what areas are essential to the research enterprise. Fisher is chair of the subcommittee
on Desktop Services and they are planning to change their name to Desktop Research Support Services
or something similar that would actually reflect the charge of this group. Oliver asked what group
would consider recommending site licenses for expensive software. The response was that it could be
any one of the three groups. Mettlen responded that individual software would fall under Desktop
Services, network and mainframe software would fall under High Performance Computing, and
communication would fall under Access Services. Mettlen hoped that this group would make
recommendations to her and suggest what should be added in the area of infrastructure if the
University funding situation improves.
Walker felt that another subcommittee of the RI committee on "analytical equipment" was needed.
There is a lot of major equipment at the University but it is difficult to find out what equipment is
actually in each department. The descriptions provided to the Treasurer's Office are not detailed and
some equipment is purchased in components making it difficult to identify large pieces of equipment.
Keene announced his frustration at trying to dial off campus after 3:30 p.m. He was told by the campus
operators that the phone lines are all tied up in the afternoon. He hoped that Mettlen could look into
this. She indicated that she would do so.
Kaufman inquired about the expectations of the RI committee in regards to the Library.
Additional comments by Walker: Walker introduced John Schultz to the RC. Schultz is working in
the grants and contracts section of OR. He has many years of experience in procurement at Lockheed
Martin Energy Systems. Walker also announced that the Sponsored Programs Database is in the
process of being revised; Mettlen will help in this process.
Presentation by Ramsey Valentine: Valentine gave a presentation on Electronic Collaboration with
Lotus Notes. View graphs of his talk are enclosed.
Adjournment: 5:10 p.m.