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Minutes for March 2002

RESEARCH COUNCIL MINUTES
March 11, 2002
 

Attendees: Gayle Baker (Co-Vice Chair), Doug Birdwell (Chair), Bill Blass (Co-Vice Chair), Hampersum Bozdogan, David Buehler, Billie Collier, Mark Dadmun, Denny Dukes, Pat Fisher, Arlene Garrison, Maureen Groer, Joanne Hall, Jon Levin, Carol Malkemus, Dwayne McCay, Faye Muly, Bonnie Ownley, Stan Pinkleton, C.A. Speer, Elizabeth Sutherland, Bruce Tonn, Luther Wilhelm

  • Introductory Remarks:
    • Billie Collier, Associate Vice President for Research, had several announcements for the Council:
      • The annual report is being compiled and a draft should be ready soon for review.
      • The search for the Director of Compliance is being reactivated. It is a half-time position for a faculty member.
      • The workflow audit is proceeding with interviews with staff and research deans and tracking of proposals. The findings will be benchmarked against other universities.
      • Letters about the SARIF Summer Graduate Research Assistant funds have been sent.
    • Chair Doug Birdwell had a number of remarks:
      • There is no word yet about the SAP/IRIS committee for handling problems.
      • The Provost has requested that Research Council review the “AAU Report on Conflict of Interest.” Birdwell asked for volunteers to review the report over the summer along with UT’s associated statements and report the findings in the Fall. Gayle Baker will send out an e-mail call for volunteers.
      • Birdwell issued another call for nominations for Chair of Research Council. The election will be held at the April luncheon meeting at the University Club. He also asked committee chairs to let him know via e-mail of their willingness to continue as chair in the future.
    • Updates:
      • Academic IT Council: New members from Research Council (Gayle Baker, Doug Birdwell, and Bill Blass) have been added to the Academic Information Technology (IT) Council.
      • Faculty Workstation Program: Gayle Baker read a communication from Clif Woods of the Provost’s Office about the Faculty Workstation Refresh Program. Letters have been sent out to deans and department heads. Stan Pinkleton indicated that there will be options for both Mac’s and PC’s, as well as desktop and laptop models. An online form will be available soon to order through this program. Loaner laptops are available to faculty through a program administered by Smiley Clapp of ORIT.
      • SARIF Equipment & Infrastructure Panel: Gayle Baker announced the formation of the SARIF Equipment & Infrastructure Panel. Proposals will be reviewed in April. The members are Baker (chair), Bill Blass, Doug Birdwell, Arlene Garrison, Marion Hansen, and Pamela Small. Baker indicated that the bylaws will need to be changed to make this a standing committee. Birdwell suggested that this be done during the 2002-2003 academic year.
      • IT Security: Doug Birdwell referred to the handout of his e-mail about IT security to Acting President Fly. Birdwell agreed with IBM that the University needs Chief Security Officer to report to the President. That position requires the authority to identify and handle security problems. Birdwell also recommended that ORIT be split into two separate groups. Bill Blass commented on the lack of education about security across the campus. The discussion ended with the Chair stating that he has seen disturbing trends at UT with respect to how persons responsible for some compromised systems have responded to security problems. There has been no response to the e-mail yet from Acting President Fly.

    Meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.