Vice president for research Peter Dorhout updated the Faculty Senate on the impact of presidential executive orders on federally-funded research at the university during the Feb. 11 meeting.
"There have been over 80 executive orders that may have had some intersection with what is happening here," he said. "Some impact higher education, some are research focused and some impact federal funding agencies. It has been a challenge to determine their impact."
Dorhout said Iowa State currently has 1,154 active contracts and grants with the federal government. To understand the size and scope of the orders, Dorhout and peers have used previous government shutdowns as a blueprint. He said he regularly meets virtually with a large group of fellow research leaders at other universities to share best practices.
"Without assurances that funding was going to flow in, we had to put some things on hold," he said
More than 120 projects were to start or be renewed between Jan. 20 and April 1. Principal investigators for each project were contacted to determine impact and next steps. The office of the vice president for research has a webpage that is frequently updated to provide information to the research community, and a new task force is working with faculty whose grants may have been impacted by an executive order. The task force already has responded to more than 200 inquiries.
"We are working to try to get things to a point to bring you the best solution we can," Dorhout said.
Annual reviews
Senators will vote at the March meeting on an addition to the Faculty Handbook's annual review (PDF) process. Faculty on the tenure track would receive documentation on their progress toward promotion and tenure during their annual review. Currently, reviews focus on the previous year's performance, not advancement, and feedback may not be timely to help in the tenure process.
Other business
The Faculty Senate approved:
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Changes to the student academic progress policy (PDF) to mirror recent changes on academic dismissal and clarify how academic standing is determined. The section on proposed changes to how summer session impacts academic standing was returned to the academic standards and admissions committee for more discussion and clarification.
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An interdisciplinary minor (PDF) in user experience design in the graphic design and industrial design departments. It focuses on creating intuitive, efficient and enjoyable user interactions with digital products, websites, applications and other interfaces.
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The family and community services (PDF) graduate focus area in the master of family and consumer sciences degree. The online, coursework-only program would broaden a focus area already part of the Innovation Digital Education Alliance (IDEA), a consortium of universities that offer online, affordable programs.
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Five focus areas to the master of veterinary preventive medicine (PDF). The five areas are:
o Diagnostic pathology
o Food animal toxicology
o Veterinary epidemiology
o Swine population medicine
o Animal welfare
The second vote on an undergraduate minor in sports media communication (PDF) was moved to the March meeting to provide more time for discussion with other departments.
