We are now about one-quarter through our 120-day research planning activity. This 120-day study, initiated by Dr. Chris Keane, new vice president for research (VPR), has set an aggressive path for developing a comprehensive research plan for Washington State University. I am co-chairing this planning activity not only to bring the administrative resources of both the Office of the VPR and the Provost’s Office to bear on this critical activity, but also to communicate its importance to the university.
Why is this activity so important? WSU has gone several years without having a comprehensive plan for advancing its research mission. Despite the absence of a comprehensive research plan, the university has excelled in improving many research metrics, mainly through the individual and collective excellence of its research-active faculty. WSU aspires to be an AAU institution, and if it we are serious about that aspiration, we will need to take our research and graduate education programs to an even higher level. Of course, we will need to accomplish this feat in an era of shrinking research funding from traditional federal sources, and increasing competition for highly productive faculty.
To achieve our aspirations will require that we make strategic investments of faculty, facilities, and funding in the areas that will generate the greatest return in the form of research outputs and reputation. It will also require that we broaden the scope of research excellence at WSU to include all faculty, programs, and campuses. AAU status cannot be achieved through the advancement of a small number of signature programs. A significant change in the priority research receives across our institution is required. The 120-day study will help inform these changes.
The 120-day planning effort grew out of the new university strategic plan which called for the incoming VPR to “identify areas of research excellence and emerging areas requiring additional investment to achieve national and international prominence.” This was a tall order to put on the shoulders of a brand new administrator to WSU, but Chris has taken it on with great zeal and conviction. Dr. Keane has patterned the study after some of the planning processes undertaken at the National Energy Labs. Why follow the lead of the Energy Labs? If you have worked with the Labs, you cannot be anything but impressed with their ability to position themselves for the next scientific challenge and to compete for the federal funds being directed toward that area. To use a sports analogy, “like Wayne Gretzky, they are always skating to where the puck is going to be, rather than where it currently is.” If we are going to be successful in the future, we will need to do the same.
I am impressed with time frame, scope, and inclusiveness of the planning process. Over 125 faculty are actively engaged in this activity. Four subcommittees are working diligently to analyze data and make recommendations in the areas of research infrastructure; research themes; faculty and student engagement; and outreach, engagement, and economic development. This type of faculty engagement is required if we are truly to come out of this process with a plan that will help us define and realize research opportunities that will strengthen WSU, the state of Washington, and society.
For more information about the 120-day study and provide your input into the process, please go to http://officeofresearch.wsu.edu/120Day/.