I am wondering if the 1,300 or so people reading the RESADM-L listserv
could agree to have future polls of a general nature taken off-line. That
would mean that questions likely to stimulate scores of responses would be
posed as usual, but that respondants would reply not to the service, but
directly to the inquiring colleague. I am sure that most pollers would be
pleased to present the refined results to us (as we have seen this week ...
thank you CSULA).
It is a little unusual, I think, to have those polled subjected to each
incremental answer to a survey. I am not claiming human subjects
protection here, just asking for a little thoughtfulness about the
inevitable pelting our email inboxes take every time someone asks a very
broad and general question.
With respect to the current survey on reporting lines, I have to believe
that the response will defy correlation. Academic organization is highly
ideosyncratic and personalized. A given structure will work well with one
constellation of senior leaders and then become a problem when the
constellation changes. The results will show institutions bringing in $3m,
$30m and $300m using the same or similar apparent structure; institutions
growing and institutions fading using the same organizational structure,
etc. Sometimes state laws, institutional by-laws, and federal guidelines
mesh in different ways. One should mention that the institutional faculty
"culture" weighs in significantly in this. At Long Beach we have a
Research Office, Sponsored Programs Office, Grants and Contracts
Administration Office, a Central Development Office, and nearly a dozen
local College and Special Unit Development offices. It produces harmony,
light, peace, truth, Justice, and about $40m in g&c and $35m in gifts and
donations. We often work very closely with one another to reasonably good
results. At other institutions the division of labor has produced DMZ's,
thin red lines, and an occasional divot on the face of the institution.
So, at yourinstitution, where is the authority vested for training faculty
members in grant proposal writing technique, AND where is the
responsibility for outcomes of that activity vested? It is a rhetorical
question meant to demonstrate the need to look to function rather than
form.
Jim
Mary Beth Ayers wrote:
> At 08:39 AM 2/26/99 -0500, you wrote:
> >Happy Friday Everyone,
> >
> >I want to do a quick and easy survey in hopes of getting as
> >many responses as possible. I want to investigate the
> >reporting structures: How many OSP's report to a position
> >in the academic side (VP of Research, Provost, etc.) and how
> >many report to a position on the finance side (Controller, VP of
> >Finance, Treasurer, etc.).
> >
> >Your help will be greatly appreciated!
> >
> >Does your Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) handle
> >Preaward, Postaward, or Both? PREAWARD ONLY
> >
> >If Preaward only, do you report to an academic position or a
> >finance position? ACADEMIC
> >
> >If Postward only, do you report to an academic position or a
> >finance position? NA
> >
> >If you are both Preaward and Postaward, do you report to a
> >academic position or a finance position. NA
> >
> >Approximate yearly level of funding through OSP: $3.5 MILLION
> >
> >Thank you!
> >
> >Ruth
> >
> >Ruth Tallman
> >Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
> >Lehigh University
> >e-mail: xxxxxx@lehigh.edu
> >phone: (610) 758-3024
> >
> >
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> > subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
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> >
>
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--
James R. Brett, Ph.D., Director
Office of University Research
California State University, Long Beach
562-985-4833 fax 985-8665
http://www.csulb.edu/~research
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via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists")
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