Opening Remarks: Lillian Mashburn introduced Dr. Wade Gilley, President of the University of Tennessee, to the Research Council. Gilley expressed his interest in Research Council activities and stated that, in a recent study, the best university systems in the United States had certain things in common, two of which are competitive faculty salaries and a high level of research funding per faculty member. He is working to improve these areas, as well as information technology, on the UT campuses. Bill Blass invited Dr. Gilley to attend Research Council meetings whenever his schedule permitted.

Freedom of Information Act and OMB: Lillian Mashburn stated that the second version of the Freedom of Information Act is improved, but Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) and the Chamber of Commerce do not like it. She also briefed the Council on the current status of research funding in Washington.

Introductory Remarks: Bill Blass and Clif Woods asked members to review the latest draft of the Manual of Faculty Evaluation. Comments are to be sent to Bill Blass or Andrew Kramer.

Ken Walker stated that UTK funded research has increased to $80M, up from last year. He also reviewed the new brochures from the Office of Research.

Committee Overview: Gayle Baker reviewed the Research Council committee assignments. The assignments most requested were for the Research Infrastructure Committee and the Chancellor's Award Committee. Some of the activities of the Research Promotion and Education Committee will overlap with those of the Special Projects Committee.

Update -- Graduate School Admissions Policy for International Students: Mike Singletary, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, announced that the Graduate School will be relaxing the policy on limiting enrollment of international students to 10% of the graduate student population and 20% of the graduate students of a department. All international applications meeting admission requirements will be forwarded to the departments without any additional screening. This is being done in response to problems recruiting sufficient numbers of graduate students in the sciences and engineering. The Graduate School will review the effects of the relaxed policy at a future date.

Web of Science Citation Database: Baker announced that the UTK Library has subscribed to the Web of Science Citation Database. Departments and individual faculty members have expressed interest in using the database for program evaluation and tenure/promotion decisions. She plans to consult with Elizabeth Aversa, Director of the School of Information Science, to develop a program of user education.

UTK Information Security Standards: Bill Blass urged members of Research Council to review the draft of the UTK Information Security Standards found on the Council homepage. Areas of concern are related to due process and the intrusiveness of the policy with respect to research activities.

Update: Annual Report and Explorations: Zoe Hoyle stated that the Annual Report, beginning with FY 1999, will include funding from the College of Agriculture, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Agriculture Experiment Station. The proof for Explorations should be ready next week.

Issues for Research Council 1999-2000: Blass asked Council members to communicate via e-mail any issues of concern for the current year.

Meeting adjourned 4:55 p.m.