Over the last year, I have witnessed the dedication of Indiana University’s faculty, staff and students to advancing transformative research and creative activity that improves lives and strengthens communities.
With the IU 2030 strategic plan guiding the way, we are building on decades of IU’s research strengths to improve our research infrastructure, make significant investments in important areas like life sciences and health sciences, and offer even more resources to support IU researchers. With a new academic year underway, I wanted to highlight some recent changes we have made to support these goals.
First, Indiana University has replaced its Intellectual Property policy UA-05 with two distinct policies: UA-23, focusing on copyrightable works, and UA-24 , which addresses inventions and patents. The new UA-23 policy clarifies ownership rights, stating that IU creators own instructional and scholarly works unless otherwise directed, and outlines revenue distribution and responsibilities for disclosure and management. Procedures for protecting and commercializing patentable inventions, assigning oversight to the Vice President for Research and the Innovation and Commercialization Office are detailed in the new UA-24. Both policies increase the creators' share of net revenues from commercialized intellectual property to 50% and introduce new councils—the Copyright Policy Council and the Patent Policy Council—to oversee each area in line with new state licensing restrictions and the strategic plan.
Next, I made a commitment in August 2023 to regularly report on the allocation of indirect cost recovery (ICR) funds managed by IU Research. I shared this update with all faculty earlier this month, including a summary of ICR expenditures for FY2024 and commitments for FY2025 . A few quick highlights: In FY2024, IU Research received $12.91 million in ICR funds, with significant investments in mission-critical infrastructure, research cores and major initiatives. For FY2025, IU Research projects to receive $21.50 million but has committed to $31.01 million in investments, drawing on cash reserves that will be nearly depleted after FY2025. Notably, investments in research cores and major initiatives will see significant increases, driven by new programs aligned with the strategic plan. The update underscores our commitment to transparency, stakeholder engagement and strategic resource allocation to support and grow IU’s research enterprise.
Also, last Thursday, Chris Liu, our Associate Vice President for Research Development, sent a note to all faculty sharing that the review I requested of existing IU Internal Funding Programs was completed this spring. The result is nine internal programs, including the newly launched IU 2030 Emerging Frontiers Grant, which supports interdisciplinary faculty team-building to draft and submit proposals for external funding. While no initiatives were eliminated, some were revised or transitioned to be administered by other areas of the university. We will continue to streamline processes and ensure funding programs help foster large-scale, interdisciplinary research to achieve IU 2030 Stragetic Plan goals. Additionally, Arts and Humanities funding programs are now overseen by Ed Dallis-Comentale, offering robust programming and funding opportunities for faculty in these important areas.
Finally, IU launched the IU Research Innovator Career Track , a new job family designed to support the ambitious goals of the strategic plan by enabling the efficient hiring and retention of highly skilled staff for externally funded research, service and creative activities. This job family, available across all IU campuses, offers roles such as assistant, associate, full and senior research innovator, with competitive, market-based compensation. These non-tenure track positions are crucial for ensuring that principal investigators are able to hire and retain the necessary expertise to drive cutting-edge research and innovation, ultimately enhancing IU’s research productivity and ability to address complex challenges.
The changes and initiatives we have implemented over the last year underscore our commitment to fostering an environment where innovation and creativity can thrive. I am excited to continue working together to ensure we are meeting the state’s – and world’s – most critical needs. Reach out any time you have questions or concerns.
Russell J. Mumper, Vice President for Research
