Barbara, I am at a somewhat smaller institution than you are, but we have a
college of agriculture--consequently the level of activity for our IACUC is
similar to yours.  Our grants office  consists of a full time director (me), a
.4 time grants coordinator (performs searches, writes our newsletter, etc.),
and access to some secretarial services.

I administer the IACUC and serve as its secretary.  We meet 2-4 times per year.
 I call the meetings, distribute the protocols, take and distribute notes, etc.
 The chair serves as primary advocate, most of the time, where advocacy is
required.  I also file the annual reports with HHS and USDA and visit with the
USDA inspector once or twice a year.

Nowadays these tasks occupy only a few hours a month.  When I first came here
six years ago, however, we had a moribund IACUC and a new NIH grant which
required a facility for housing and operating on SCID mice, so it took
considerably more time.  We also rewrote our manual and protocol form.

My advice is to do it in house.  I'm afraid that the problems your faculty will
perceive--real or not--in working with the IACUC of another institution will
dwarf the time savings you will realize.  I would ask the professor who is the
most resistant to your neighboring institution to serve as chair, or at least
to serve on the committee, along with other objectors.  Let them argue through
the issues and write the manual and protocol forms, since they are the ones
most affected anyway.  Perhaps you could recruit someone from the neighboring
institution to serve as a consultant, informal or formal, to help you through
the beginning stages--that way you will benefit from the collaboration, at
least in part.

Good luck, and regards.  Please ask more questions if you like.

Bill Campbell
Director, Grants & Research
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
xxxxxx@uwrf.edu