As an old timer, I recognize that Ray Woodrow had it right: Management FOR Research! Woodrow, Raymond J., "Management for Research in U. S. Universities". NACUBO, Washington, D.C., 1978 Chuck At 02:20 PM 8/5/2002 -0500, you wrote: >Jim is right, as usual. We really don't need a definition of the >field as much as a reasonable name for what we do, since we do what >our organizations need for us to do.. That reasonable descriptive >name has been a stumper for about 50 years. > >Spanky > >>Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 12:20:32 -0700 >>From: "James R. Brett" <xxxxxx@CSULB.EDU> >>Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] >>Sender: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@hrinet.org> >>To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG >>Reply-to: Research Administration Discussion List <xxxxxx@hrinet.org> >>Organization: California State University, >> Long Beach -- Office of University Research >>X-Accept-Language: en >> >>?Sometimes someone in an institution will get all distraught about the >>expression Research Administrator. It is obvious to us that Research >>Administrators do not administer research, but the term sometimes seems >>like an oxymoron to people with an axe to grind. >> >>Research administrators provide services, information, interpretation, and >>personal and career counseling over a wide range of activities to other >>concerned people (including students, faculty, other administrators, >>agency program officers, auditors, the press, and politicians) in the >>various interfaces between the institutional researcher and the rest of >>the world. The reason we do not call ourselves Research Service, >>Information, Interpretation, and Counselling Administrators is because the >>term is decidedly awkward and would drastically change the names of our >>two main professional organizations. >> >>The reason we have Research Administrators is because researchers (and the >>people they typically encounter) are often much too involved in their own >>specialties to become adequate in (enough of) these interface areas to be >>successful. Persons in our profession must be competent or knowledgable >>in accountancy, law, government, politics, and general interpersonal >>relations, not to mention being able to intelligently discuss what >>research is actually about over a range of disciplines, sometimes needing >>to understand thoroughly several cognate disciplines and sometimes to >>understand the research in layman's terms in over a hundred disciplines. >> >>Jim >> >>Mike McCallister wrote: >> >>> This thing about research administration being about IP? That >>> completely misses the point (Sorry Charlie). IP is a small tail >>> wagging a big dog right now and is used so much the term has lost >>> currency. IP happens within research, sometimes. It is almost >>> serendipitous. It certainly is not as big a deal as some want it to >>> be, not yet. >>> >>> So what's RA? What did you tell your Mom you do at work? That's >>> what it is. It's what needs to be done for our researchers and >>> faculty to create new knowledge, solve problems, grow themselves, >>> even save the world, maybe. But most of all what we do is help those >>> who can to do because what they do is, by and large, important to >>> society. >>> >>> Spanky >>> >>> ====================================================================== >>> Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including >>> subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available >>> via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") >>> ====================================================================== >> >>-- >>James R. Brett, Ph.D., Director, >>Office of University Research >>California State University, Long Beach >>562-985-5314 562-985-8665 fax >>http://www.csulb.edu/~research/ >> >> >>====================================================================== >> Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including >> subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available >> via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") >>====================================================================== > > >-- >Mike McCallister, Ph. D. > Director, Research and Sponsored Programs >University of Arkansas at Little Rock >2801 South University >Little Rock, AR 72204-1099 >(v) 501-569-8474 >(f) 501-371-7614 >(c) 501-590-5609 > >"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new >discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I've found it!), but 'That's funny...'" > ~ Isaac Asimov > > >====================================================================== >Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including >subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available >via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") >====================================================================== > Herbert B. Chermside, CRA Director, Sponsored Programs Administration Virginia Commonwealth University PO BOX 980568 Richmond, VA 23298-0568 Express Delivery Only: Sanger Hall, Rm. 1-032A 11th & Marshall Streets Richmond, VA 23219 Voice: 804-828-6772 Fax 804-828-2521 OFFICE e-mail xxxxxx@VCU.EDU Personal e-mail xxxxxx@vcu.edu http://views.vcu.edu/ospa/ ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================
