Research and teaching have been at the heart of my career since the moment I decided to pursue higher education. In addition to my own research, for the past five years, I have had the privilege of serving as the associate dean for research at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, helping to facilitate, and find support for, extraordinary research led by Luddy School colleagues.
I am both excited and honored to now play a role in determining how IU Research can enhance support for faculty researchers across the university.
This past summer, the Bloomington, Indianapolis and University Research offices were combined into one, bringing together IU Research Development (proposal development services, internal funding programs, limited submissions and federal research relations) and related services in the same way that, over the past two decades, Research Administration and Research Compliance were integrated. The goal is the same: to allow experience, skill, capacity and strategic focus to drive resource and service allocation regardless of geographic location.
I have been spending the last few weeks getting to know the staff in the newly integrated Office of Research Development and hearing their ideas for the future. I am thrilled to be working with Patricia Muller, recently named interim director of the unified IU Proposal Development Services, on her work to continue to integrate and expand proposal development services, especially around grant-writing cohorts, supporting early career principaI investigators and supporting large-scale proposals. I am also excited to have Etta Ward and Sherry Knighton-Schwandt – both long-term leaders in research development on their respective campuses – collaborate to bring the IUPUI EMPOWER program, a year-long mentoring cohort, to the Bloomington campus to support faculty hired through the IU Presidential Faculty Diversity Initiative Funding.
I will be spending the next few months meeting colleagues across Indiana University to both learn about their research and how the Office of Research Development can best support that research. While there are no major changes to internal funding this year, except for the notable increase in investment in the integrated research equipment fund, I am working closely alongside Interim Associate Vice President for Research and Vice Provost for Research Brea Perry and Interim Associate Vice President for Research and Vice Chancellor for Research Marc Mendonca to evaluate our current programs and ensure we address the unique needs of each campus and our colleagues across disciplines. Importantly, we are identifying a set of faculty strategic advisors who will be instrumental in determining priorities for our current and future investments. Ed Dallis-Comentale, the Director of the Arts and Humanities Council for IU Bloomington, has already been named the first strategic advisor representing the arts and humanities. I am eager to build out this advisory group with faculty who will represent the sciences, technology, community-engaged research and more.
I look forward to working with my faculty colleagues and Research staff in the weeks and months ahead and am delighted to engage with my fellow colleagues to improve the services we provide to advance IU’s research mission. Ideas, questions or concerns also remain welcome any time via research@iu.edu.
Kay Connelly, provost professor of informatics and interim associate vice president for the Office of Research Development.
