GOAL #1 — Focus Areas: Driving Resources Toward Excellence The
University will continue to focus the academic programs, both undergraduate and graduate,
and the research/scholarship programs into the following areas:
- Marine and the Environment
- Health
- Children, Families and Communities
- Enterprise and Advanced Technology.
Rationale
In spite of the mythology surrounding land-grant institutions, it is certainly true
that no institution of higher education has ever been able to be "all things to all
people." It is clear today that even the most generously supported institutions must
become more selective in the areas they elect to support and nurture. To meet our own
expectations as well as those of the people we serve, we must focus available resources to
a select few areas which we can then afford to do well. All of the planning initiatives
and documents developed in the last decade have recognized this reality and sought to
identify those areas of existing strength as well as those in which we have a reasonable
opportunity to become strong. Concurrently, the University has worked to develop both a
process to strengthen the focus areas and strategies for accomplishing it.
Not only is focus necessary in order to live within our resource constraints, but it is
essential if the University is to establish and maintain an institutional distinctiveness
required in today's competitive world as well as to meet its mandate to address issues
important to society. Simply put, we must compete for appropriately qualified students and
for the resources to sustain the programs which attract them. The University needs a clear
and well defined public image which establishes it as a vital institution positioned to
meet the rapidly changing needs of the State, the county, and the world.
As a result of many years of conversations on campus, the University's Mission
Statement explicitly identifies four areas of programmatic focus in addition to its
historical strength in the traditional arts and sciences: Marine and the Environment;
Health; Children, Families, and Communities; and Enterprise and Advanced Technology.
Within each of these areas much has already been done and much more remains to be done
Major Steps Taken to Date
- Developed the Program Contribution Analysis (PCA) to permit an assessment of the
financial impact of degree programs. Based in part on the findings from this analysis, 46
academic programs were suspended and another 105 were flagged for further management
attention. The same ad hoc committee which developed the PCA identified the four focus
areas (and the Liberal Arts Core-see Goal #2).
- Established and funded four partnerships: 1) Sensors and Surface Technology, 2) Public
Health Partnership in Infectious Disease Control, 3) Partnership for the Coastal
Environment, and 4) the Health Promotion Partnership. The intent of partnerships is to
enhance opportunities for entrepreneurial faculty, graduate and undergraduate students to
conduct research and learn collaboratively in a learner-centered environment. Partnerships
bring shared resources to any set of problems identified as part of one or more focus
areas.
Change in Progress
- All new faculty appointments are being carefully matched with priorities within the
focus areas. Even faculty appointments in some traditionally important areas are being
restructured to contribute to the focus areas. An example of this is a recently appointed
faculty member in maritime history. This position was needed to continue to deliver the
curriculum, but the individual appointed was also an expert in maritime history and,
hence, can provide support to the marine and environment focus area.
Future Plans
- Refine the organizational structure within Academic Affairs to promote the focus areas.
This is an evolving process which is made more complex in light of the traditional
organizational structure of the University. For example, colleges exist with individual
missions, but they and the units within them will evolve in their missions and
composition. As part of this change process, the relationship of colleges and disciplinary
units with the focus areas and the sharing of leadership responsibilities among the
leaders of each must be clarified and made mutually supportive. This is an ongoing
process.
- Identify broad initiatives within the focus areas that will bring multidisciplinary
groups together to highlight and strengthen University capabilities.
- Align all current and future partnerships with the focus areas and ensure that they
expand the capacity and enhance the major initiatives of the focus areas. A request for
new partnership proposals will be made during Spring 1998 with one or more new
partnerships expected to be authorized for 1999.
- Study "Statewide" degree programs sponsored jointly with Rhode Island College.
Several different models are likely to be employed depending on the specific programs
involved. Model programs in African and African-American Studies and Women's Studies are
near the proposal stage. Other possibilities include undergraduate programs in some
languages, anthropology, and the fine arts. Graduate program possibilities include
political science, history, music and communication studies.
- Collaborate-in a similar spirit-by pursuing articulated programs with CCRI. Dental
Hygiene has initiated a variation on the 2+2 model with a 1+2+1 program leading to an A.S.
and a B.S. degree after four years.
- Seek formal approval for the discontinuation of the 46 suspended programs.
Resources
- Establishing focus areas recognizes explicitly that the anticipated flow of resources to
the University will not be especially bountiful. In other words, there has been an
acknowledgment that finite resources will have to be deployed judiciously and that those
resources which are driven to the focus areas will be re-deployed rather than new
resources. Nevertheless, financial resources are of critical importance in our ability to
focus.
- In response to the above, faculty positions not connected to priorities within the focus
areas have not been filled. Examples already have occurred in every college over the past
several years.
- The Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs estimates that 90
faculty members will be eligible for retirement within the next 5 years. This provides
numerous degrees of freedom with our human resources which are coincidentally the most
expensive.
- While this will become more explicit in the future, the initiatives underway and those
yet to be undertaken will be intrinsically connected to facility plans. For example, plans
detailed later in this report inextricably relate the rehabilitation and upgrading of
Ranger Hall with an initiative for Environmental Biotechnology that has been proposed by
the Marine and Environmental focus area.
- At least as important as financial resources to this process will be the identification
of effective leadership. The Marine and Environment focus area has realized some
significant successes due to the imaginative leadership of the Vice Provost for Marine
Programs who has proven very adept at nurturing the development of this area. Similarly
insightful leadership will be essential to the success of all focus areas as well as the
colleges in whatever form they may take in the future. Such leadership is being recruited
for the vacancies in the College of Business Administration as well as others.
Challenges
- The process of driving resources towards areas of emphasis inevitably produces
resistance from some quarters, but this resistance will have to be overcome. The ability
of the University's administration and governance processes to say no to worthwhile but
less central initiatives will be sorely tested.
- Because of the legacies of the past, faculty are not always in the disciplines where
they now are needed. Careful replacement decisions can rectify this, but a good deal of
time is needed to effect this change.
- The identification and empowerment of focus area leaders and their respective
responsibilities are essential. The leaders must assist the institution in understanding
choices being made between/among colleges across the institution.
- Each focus area must develop a thematic set of goals, prioritize initiatives, identify
faculty needs and hiring priorities-aiming for hiring that serves multiple institutional
needs.
- The institution must work to resolve questions surrounding rewards and incentives within
the focus areas and partnerships.
- A new organizational structure which blends existing colleges with newly identified
focus areas and newly initiated partnerships will have to be established.
- All of this must be done in a way that will present this restructuring in a coherent way
to current and prospective students.
Applications of Goal #1 within the Focus Areas
I. Marine and the Environment
Major Steps Taken to Date
- The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs assigned leadership of the College
of Resource Development to the Vice Provost for Marine Programs and Dean of the Graduate
School of Oceanography in order to strengthen ties with the Graduate School of
Oceanography and encourage cooperation between the two units.
- The College of Resource Development has begun major restructuring including revision of
degree programs, acceptance of the transfer of the Department of Geology from the College
of Arts and Sciences, and generally becoming much more focused on the environment and the
life sciences, particularly as they relate to marine and coastal problems.
Change in Progress
- The Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (BMMG) is in the
final stages of transferring from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of
Resource Development to emphasize and strengthen links between the department and other
life sciences within the College. (Target approval date is July 1, 1998.)
- A new mission statement has been developed by the College of Resource Development that
clarifies its strength in environmental studies and life sciences. The process of changing
the name of the College to reflect this mission is underway. (Target approval date is July
1, 1998.)
- The transfer of the Department of Marine Affairs from the College of Arts and Sciences
to the College of Resource Development is underway. (Target approval date is July 1,
1998.)
- Full Board approval of the Coastal Institute is being sought to foster additional
initiatives in the coastal and estuarine environment. (Target approval date is July 1,
1998.)
- A Master's of Oceanography degree has been proposed and is working its way through the
University's approval process with a desired start date of July 1, 1998.
- The College of Resource Development is in the process of revising a number of graduate
degree programs to reflect its changing mission.
Proposed programs to be transmitted for approval:
|
Environmental Sciences, Ph.D.
Environmental Science and Management, M.S. |
Suspended programs to be transmitted for elimination:
|
Natural Resources Science, M.S. and Ph.D.
Plant Science, M.S. and Ph.D.
Geology, M.S.
Entomology, M.S.
Fisheries, Animal, and Veterinary Science, Ph.D. |
Future Plans
- A multidisciplinary initiative in Environmental Biotechnology has been proposed by the
Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Vice Provost for Marine Programs
(who is also Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography and Interim Dean of the College
of Resource Development), and faculty in areas of molecular biological research and
teaching. The Environmental Biotechnology Initiative will encompass undergraduate as well
as graduate programs because there is a strong demand for undergraduates with knowledge of
molecular biological techniques.
- The timeliness of the Environmental Biotechnology Initiative is in part due to the
opportunities presented by the forthcoming rehabilitation of Ranger Hall. External dollars
for repairs and updating of the infrastructure are available from the 1996 bond
referendum. There are a number of other factors, however, that make this the right moment
to move forward with this initiative:
- the combination of relevant academic, research and outreach programs and their
relationship to the focus area;
- existing faculty and staff expertise in many departments;
- compelling interest in biotechnology in the scientific and public communities;
- employment opportunities for those with graduate and undergraduate degrees in a variety
of majors with biotechnology applications;
- ability to attract significant federal and corporate funds;
- ability to attract and sustain high-quality researchers in the field;
- bringing together of a strong community of biological scientists to facilitate sharing
of expensive research equipment.
- Timeline for the Environmental Biotechnology Initiative:
Academic Year 1997-98-adoption
of proposal by Marine and Environmental Focus Area.
Calendar Year 1998-submission of proposals to traditional federal and new
corporate sources for new Ranger Hall infrastructure; modification of curriculum to
include biotechnology components.
Fall 1999-appoint new faculty pending the acquisition of funding and
program approval.
Academic Year 1999-2000-completion of facility.
II. Health
Major Steps Taken to Date
- A six-year Doctor of Pharmacy program (Pharm.D.) was initiated which will become the
entry professional degree in this field. The number of separate departments within the
College of Pharmacy was reduced from five to three to improve operating efficiency and
bring faculty together in ways more consistent with developing research initiatives.
- A Distance Education Pharm.D. course is currently serving 10 students in Bangor, Maine
through the use of a PictureTel link from the Providence campus. These 10 students add to
the traditional on-site enrollment of 66 Providence-based students. This is a cooperative
effort among the College of Pharmacy, the CCE Special Programs Office and Information and
Instructional Technology Services.
- The College of Nursing enjoys an ongoing collaboration with both the Community College
and the Rhode Island College nursing programs.
- A Health Promotion minor is graduating its first student this May.
- An interdisciplinary Psychology course taught by several faculty in the Health Promotion
Partnership has been offered for three semesters.
- Smoking, weight management and elderly health teams are actively involved in community
outreach.
- The elderly health team was awarded $33,000 from the Rhode Island Public Health
Foundation to establish state physical activity program for clients located in senior
housing sites and centers.
- A multidisciplinary Health Focus committee has reviewed curricular offerings to identify
overlap and redundancy as well as new courses that would be appropriate. This group will
begin discussing faculty hiring priorities in the near future.
- Faculty Senate approval of an interdisciplinary minor in thanatology (study of loss,
death, and dying) is being sought.
Change in Progress
- The newly formed department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy is
developing several new research initiatives in pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics.
(ongoing)
- Development of a Master's in Public Health (MPH) Program that is in the approval
process. The MPH was developed by a group of faculty in the health focus area. To foster
the interdisciplinary nature of the program, the seven deans whose faculty would teach in
this program selected the Dean of the College of Nursing to head this administrative group
and to communicate with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the
broader community in matters related to the proposed public health program.
- An on-site option for the Non-thesis Master's degree in Chemistry will be offered at
Pfizer Industries of Connecticut. This offering is part of the University's continuing
work with industry in serving adult populations. (Target approval date is September,
1998.)
- As part of the Health Promotion Partnership, a study of clients with diabetes has begun
in collaboration with VNS HomeCare in Wakefield, Rhode Island and the College of Nursing.
Students from nursing, nutrition, exercise physiology and psychology are participating as
"coaches." Each semester, 25 students are expected to participate.
- The Health Promotion Partnership has added an Alcohol Team which will study alcohol
abuse problems on campus.
- Current initiatives between the nursing programs at URI, RIC and CCRI include:
- a joint effort together with the Hospital Association of Rhode Island to survey nurses
across the State;
- work on an articulation program between RIC and URI;
- RIC and CCRI participation in URI's "Best and Brightest Program" which
actively recruits strong students into the University's graduate programs.
- The Dental Hygiene Program has developed a 1+2+1 program with CCRI. This program will
admit students to URI where they will take their freshman year, and will continue them as
URI students on leave while they take the two clinical years at CCRI before returning to
URI to complete their bachelor's degree.
- Plans are being finalized to have the CCRI Dental Assistant Program (a one year
certificate program) offered on the URI campus in the Dental Hygiene clinical facility.
- Development of a bachelor's degree at URI designed to serve students from several of the
health-related programs at CCRI which would provide clear paths to a bachelor's degree and
prepare them for a range of graduate and professional programs.
Future Plans
- A graduate program in Occupational Therapy as a companion program for our existing
Physical Therapy Program is being studied. This offers opportunities for collaboration
with the Department of Rehabilitative Services and opportunities for articulation with
CCRI.
- The proposed Master's of Public Health being developed in active partnership with the
Department of Health. It will forge a new model for interdisciplinary programs at the
University.
- The Health Promotion Partnership members are writing a training grant to fund
pre-doctoral students, who will gain research experience by working with the various
research teams in the partnership.
- Faculty in the College of Nursing are working collaboratively with a Rhode Island
hospital, and the elderly health team from the University's Health Promotion Partnership
to develop a nursing center focused on care of the elderly. Both undergraduate and
graduate students will be involved in the work of the center.
- The Nurse Midwifery Program is exploring the development of a center with a Rhode Island
hospital.
- The Nurse Midwifery Program is discussing a distance education program using PictureTel
for masters' students at the University of Vermont who are interested in earning a
certificate in Nurse Midwifery.
- The Health Focus deans' group will hear the recommendations of the curriculum committee
for the Health focus area at the end of the semester. The goals are to a) identify courses
that might be taught in an interdisciplinary way; b) identify unmet course needs; and c)
prioritize faculty needs for interdisciplinary courses such as anatomy and physiology.
- Clinical services are offered (or will be offered) in each of the Health focus-related
colleges. The deans' group will be investigating the cost effectiveness of a unified
billing system and the adequacy of malpractice insurance for students and faculty who are
treating patients.
- The deans' group and faculty on the marketing committee will be looking into the
development of a web page to promote the activities of the Health Focus group and its
members. The web page could also take care of the request of the research committee for
communicating research interests and activities of health-related faculty.
III. Children, Families and Communities
Major Steps Taken to Date
- The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs brought new leadership to our
Education programs with the appointment of a new chair of the Department of Education and
relocation to URI of his National Center on Public Education and Social Policy which is
funded by the Carnegie, Lilly and Kauffman Foundations.
- The Human Development and Family Studies Department has engaged in a year-long planning
effort to align with this focus area.
- As an original partner in RINet (the PreK-12 network), URI brought internet technology
to schools and is now playing a major role in helping teachers to use this technology.
Last summer, under sponsorship of the Rhode Island Foundation and the Rhode Island
Department of Education this program grew to support 314 trainees and 37 trainers; three
additional years of activity are planned.
- Continued development of important connections between URI and the disciplines in K-12
education. Two examples: GEMS-NET, which received $1.3 million in NSF funding to link URI
scientists with elementary and middle schools, strengthening the science-based content in
these grade levels. In mathematics education, URI developed national assessment models and
methods for beginning teachers of mathematics.
- Increased clinical and outreach programs in Providence with the opening of the Patricia
Feinstein Child Development Center, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, and additional clinical
space to support marriage and family therapy and clinical psychology. The National Center
on Public Education also is located in our new Providence facility.
- The University's National Center on Public Education and Social Policy is now fully
operating and continuing its path-breaking national initiative on school reform.
Change in Progress
- The University partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is
working to develop, manage and disseminate school accountability for the overall
improvement of public education. (ongoing)
- URI, CCRI, and RIC are developing a plan to increase the students of color who earn a
teaching certificate. Working initially with the Education and Social Services program at
CCRI-Providence, a three-year initiative in which an instructor from URI and one from RIC
have co-taught an education class at the CCRI-Providence campus has strengthened the
articulation of the teacher education programs from CCRI to the four-year institutions.
- URI and RIC are partners in a statewide effort to increase the number of teachers who
become certified through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Other
partners in this effort include the Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Department
of Education, the two teacher unions, and the Rhode Island Legislature.
- The Consumer Affairs program is reorganizing to provide focused instruction in the area
of personal finance. With the support of Cooperative Extension, the program is partnered
with a community agency to provide outreach services in the area of personal and family
finance.
- The B.S. in Human Science and Services has been redesigned to be an outcomes-oriented
degree, helping students to articulate their academic and professional goals and then
design a program to draw upon URI classes, internships, study abroad opportunities, and
other learning experiences for which credit may be awarded to achieve their own goals.
- URI faculty are working to include an international component in this focus area through
increased efforts to do significant work and study in a range of other countries.
Future Plans
- The University is focusing its educational programs on three major areas, consistent
with the land-grant tradition: 1) career-long professional development of teachers,
beginning with pre-service education, 2) advanced research and policy analysis, and 3)
studies in public education and educational reform.
- Consistent with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the
University has proposed the establishment of a School of Education to ensure the
coordination of its academic programs; promote deep and broad disciplinary and
interdisciplinary team-based preparation of future educators; and create the structures
and processes required to employ effectively the emerging models of collaboration with
schools, institutions of higher education and other partners.
- URI and RIC continue to explore areas of potential cooperation in professional
development schools, specific teacher education programs, and in preprofessional
preparation in communicative disorders.
- A Ph.D. in Human Development is being explored, focusing on the area of applied
developmental science.
- Under consideration is a psychological community consultation and evaluation center to
work with communities in developing community-based initiatives and provide rapid response
capacity to small human services agencies seeking external funding.
- A partnership with a telecommunications corporation is underway to establish electronic
links for on-line communication between and among all of Rhode Island's public schools.
- The focus area will work to strengthen instruction, particularly at the advanced
graduate level, in the area of policy studies related to Children, Families and
Communities.
- Community conversations, led by URI faculty from sociology, philosophy, and human
services are continuing to promote community engagement in core issues concerning
children, families, and communities. Funding is being sought to continue this program of
public engagement.
IV. Enterprise and Advanced Technology
Major Steps Taken to Date
- · The University's computing programs, and particularly the Computer Science
Department, has developed an outreach initiative to the State's technology industry and
received corporate grants from GTECH and Cherry Semiconductor.
Change in Progress
- A search is underway for a new Dean of the College of Business Administration who will
be assigned leadership in this focus area initiative. (ongoing)
- The Sensors and Surface Technology Partnership is developing new technologies to detect
food contamination and pathogens. The application of this technology has significant
promise for projects contributing to Economic Development.
- The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (EPC) awarded $1.25 million in State grants
from the Samuel Slater Technology Fund's Innovation Partnership Program. URI is a partner
to 86 companies or agencies with grants in 7 of the 15 collaboratives. Slater grants are
expected to boost the State's economy by creating job growth and higher wage jobs.
Innovative Partnership Projects include:
- Implementation of agile manufacturing relationships.
- Development of advanced rapid prototyped tooling capabilities.
- Increase visibility and competitiveness of Rhode Island software development firms.
- Development of alternative solvents for cleaning electronic and plastic components.
- Develop models of semiconductor devices.
- Improvement of materials test system.
- Expand educational and research programs vital to software industry.
- Implementation of an International Business Program. (Target date is September 1998.)
- The College of Business Administration has developed a new minor in business which will
allow students majoring in other areas to bolster their ability to apply their knowledge
in business settings.
- Cooperative arrangements with RIC exist or are being explored in a number of programs
including:
| Undergraduate- |
Labor Studies, B.A. |
| Graduate- |
Labor and Industrial Relations, M.A. |
- Establish a new major in Financial Services which will support the State's stated
priority of expanding the financial services industry within Rhode Island.
Future Plans
- The College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering are jointly
developing three programs:
- A Master's Degree in Management of Technology;
- A Master's Degree in Construction Management (developed from discussions among faculty
in Engineering, Labor Research, Business Administration and representatives from the
construction industry);
- Both a B.S. and an M.S. in Transportation Systems and Management.
- Representatives from both the College of Engineering and the College of Business
Administration are working with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to establish
a transportation research and management center.
- The College of Business Administration is working on the development of an M.S. in
Finance, an undergraduate major in Financial Services, and the addition of Accounting to
the College's range of Ph.D. offerings.
- The College of Engineering is exploring a B.S. degree program in Manufacturing
Engineering.
- Efforts are underway to formalize the distinctive nature of each of the College of
Business Administration's three M.B.A. degrees.
The Providence (evening) M.B.A. program
will include new opportunities: 1) a 15-18 credit certificate program for non-matriculated
working professionals; 2) market driven specializations which might include Financial
Engineering, Management of Technology, Health Care Management; 3) a modular structure
which allows working professionals more convenient access to coursework.
- Development of an M.B.A. in International Sports Management.
V. Crosscutting Focus Area Development
Major Steps Taken to Date
- The University's Ocean Technology Center was selected by the Rhode Island Economic
Policy Council (EPC) as one of two Research Centers of Excellence. The EPC awarded the
Center $300,000 from the Samuel Slater Fund. The Ocean Technology Center is in turn
responsible for awarding "re-grants" after evaluating proposals from for-profit,
often start-up companies, with projects aimed at economic development through applications
of ocean technology. Current re-grantees include:
| Subchem Systems, Inc. |
|
developed on-site technology for measuring levels in water of phosphates,
nitrates, etc. |
| VG Sea Farms |
|
marine aquaculture developing stocks of tautog and summer flounder at
Quonset Point. |
| The Center also has a full-time technology transfer facilitator funded by
the U.S. Department of Commerce. |
Change in Progress
- There are currently centers with temporary authorization. The centers have missions
which cut across the focus areas, such as the Center on Gender Studies, the Feinstein
Center for Service Learning, the National Center for Public Education on Social Policy,
and two recent centers in Student Affairs-one in leadership development and the other in
substance abuse research. Formal authorization is being sought for those centers most
established because the formal status is an important imprimatur for extramural funding
sources. The University will continue to be exploring centers that cut across traditional
disciplines and advance the mission of one or more focus areas.
- The Departments of Computer Science and Communication Studies in the College of Arts and
Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering, the Graduate
School of Library and Information Studies, and the Department of Management Science and
Information Systems in the College of Business Administration are collectively exploring
the possibility of developing a new Master's in Information Resources Management to
prepare students to respond to the challenge of improving the strategic management of
information resources in business, government, and non-profit organizations. The program
will be designed to give students the skills to cope with the proliferation and complexity
of new information technologies and services. This proposed new program will be
interdisciplinary and have three major focus areas: management of information systems; how
people use information; and the systems used to acquire, manipulate and disseminate
information.
Future Plans
- A Ph.D. in Leadership and Social Policy to improve the capacity and effectiveness for
social policy development, analysis, and evaluation by key stakeholders in Rhode Island,
particularly in the public service, not-for-profit or volunteer sectors.
| Social Policy |
Children, Families and Communities |
| Environmental Policy |
Marine and the Environment |
| Trade and Employment Policy |
Enterprise and Advanced Technology |
| Public Health Policy |
Health |
- Expansion of Independence Square to increase space for the current occupants (physical
therapy and exercise science), new space for our planned program in occupational therapy,
and new space to move Communicative Disorders to Independence Square (freeing space in
Adams Hall). Also planned is space for child- and family-oriented programs including day
care space for infants and toddlers, clinic space for clinical psychology and marriage and
family therapy, and modest space for education and allied areas. The program focus will be
on "early intervention," giving us the potential to work closely with State and
voluntary agencies to develop cross-professional, integrated and family-focused programs
of training and demonstration clinical and outreach programs.
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GOAL #2 — The Liberal Arts Core: Shaping the Future and
Preserving the Past
The University will continue to provide liberal education both through a general
education program and discipline-based undergraduate and graduate programs traditional in
liberal learning.
Rationale
The Liberal Arts Core provides a foundation for all the focus areas. It also has been
described as parallel to the focus areas but differing in one significant and crucial way.
Those disciplines which define and question our most fundamental values and their
application and expression throughout civilization reside in the Liberal Arts Core. As is
stated in the University of Rhode Island Mission Statement: "The University is
committed to providing strong undergraduate programs to promote students' ethical
development and capabilities as critical and independent thinkers." For the
foreseeable future, liberal learning will remain as the central repository for the
ideological values of the institution and higher education in general. At the University
of Rhode Island, the traditional components of the Liberal Arts Core reside in the College
of Arts and Sciences.
With both graduate and undergraduate programs, the Liberal Arts Core consists of
disciplines in their own right-the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and
mathematics. In addition, the responsibility for the administration of the general
education program is a primary responsibility of the College of Arts and Sciences,
although other colleges are and must be involved. As such, general education is a major
component of the philosophical underpinnings of the Liberal Arts Core. Finally, the
Liberal Arts Core will be critical to the development of students by providing focused
attention to the development of skills-communication, critical thinking, quantitative
reasoning-as foundations for of lifelong learning as well as attention to habits of the
mind and values.
Major Steps Taken to Date
- As a result of the Program Contribution Analysis, 40 programs in Arts and Sciences (plus
65 others University-wide) that were seriously underenrolled and/or costly were suspended
or flagged for further study, financial improvement and/or future suspension. In some
cases, programs were merged such as Biology and Botany joining as Biological Sciences. In
others, there is ongoing exploration of interdisciplinary work. The establishment of the
Center for the Humanities and the John Hazen Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service are
two strong examples of collaborative ventures within the Liberal Arts Core.
- Establishment of a B.S. in Marine Biology.
- Biochemistry and Microchemistry merged into the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology
and Molecular Genetics.
- Establishment of an Undergraduate Advisory Council.
- Developing cross-college, interdisciplinary programs which merge one of the liberal arts
with professional education.
- Founding of the Cancer Prevention Research Center.
- Formation of the Center for the Humanities with annual research and lecture programs
undertaken by Humanities Fellows.
- Rhode Island Partnership for Research on Women and Gender.
Change in Progress
The College of Arts and Sciences is in the midst of some shifts in its composition. For
example:
- The Geology Department has moved to the College of Resource Development (CRD) where its
departmental mission and research strengths are better suited to the mission of that
College and the associated Marine and Environmental Focus.
- The Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (BMMG) is in the
final stages of transferring from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of
Resource Development. (Target approval date is July 1, 1998.)
- Transfer of the Department of Marine Affairs from the College of Arts and Sciences to
the College of Resource Development is being considered. (Target approval date is July 1,
1998.)
- The Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a committee of faculty are
exploring a Master's in Liberal Arts to provide a cost efficient program with the appeal
of individually designed curricular requirements.
- An undergraduate program, a B.A. in Public Relations, designed jointly by the
Departments of Journalism and Communication Studies is in the final stages of approval.
(Target approval date is July 1, 1998.)
- Cooperative arrangements with RIC exist or are being explored in a number of liberal
arts programs as follows:
| Undergraduate |
African and African-American Studies, B.A.
Anthropology, B.A.
French, B.A.
Music, B.A., B.M.
Women's Studies, B.A.
Physics, B.A./B.S. |
| Graduate |
Creative Writing (English), M.A./M.F.A.
French, M.A.
History, M.A.
Music, M.M.
Political Science, M.A.
Theatre, M.F.A. |
- The development of focus areas and the concurrent exploration of disciplinary homes
and/or partnerships outside of Arts and Sciences, particularly for many of the sciences,
suggests the need for further exploration of structure. Additionally, disciplines within
the College have a role to play in the development of partnerships and centers. For
example, several new faculty positions serve both the Liberal Arts Core and the focus
areas: maritime historian; organic chemist; marine vertebrate biologist.
- The role of the arts and humanities remains of central concern for the Liberal Arts
Core. At present, there are a number of initiatives to strengthen extant programs or
foster new ones.
- The Champlin Foundations funded an arts computer laboratory used for both instruction of
arts students and for the general student who wishes to experiment with arts applications
in technology.
- Additional funding from the Champlin Foundations is supporting the transformation of
Independence Hall into a site with several technology enhanced learning centers including
a language laboratory with cutting edge video and computer interface to complement
- Three computer laboratories-Arts, Journalism and the Communication Technology Center-are
being placed under the management of Information and Instructional Technology Services
(ITTS) to assure high-quality service for students and instructional staff.
- The Fine Arts Center has undergone rehabilitation and upgrading in its theaters and
concert hall. At present there is a development initiative for total rehabilitation of the
main concert hall.
- The Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Interim Dean for the
College of Resource Development are working cooperatively on a multidisciplinary
initiative in Environmental Biotechnology to capitalize on expertise available in both
colleges.
- Each year, the Center for the Humanities is appointing two Humanities Fellows.
- The role of general education as the delivery system for liberal learning and associated
basic skills is the subject of long and continued discussion.
At present, the
University College General Education Committee (UCGE) and the College of Arts and Sciences
have decided to continue to support incremental change as the most fruitful way of
improving general education.
Possible incremental changes:
- Increase Writing Across the Curriculum courses;
- More clearly define objectives;
- Integration of technology (universal access);
- Change in course delivery (learning communities, course size).
Future Plans
- The University of Rhode Island has an obligation to ensure reasonable access to a
Liberal Education Core as part of its future. This means that the University must commit
to maintaining a spectrum of disciplines and ensure that a quality general education
program-supported by other colleges in addition to Arts and Sciences-gives these
disciplines strong and central emphasis. The difficulty of shrinking resources makes it
clear that the continued building of a strong Liberal Arts Core will depend on the ability
of proponents of liberal learning to infuse all aspects of the curriculum with the values
of general education. In addition, those disciplines that exist as part of the Liberal
Arts Core must seek to create cooperative ventures in which real world applications serve
learning, outreach and research. There are several successful models and proposed programs
as follows:
- A professor in the Department of Philosophy is working with the Coastal Partnership to
address aesthetic issues of the coastline.
- A professor in the Department of Philosophy teaches Medical Ethics at URI, Brown
University and the Adult Correctional Institution.
- A professor in the Department of German has successfully partnered the study of German
with Engineering. This leads to the logical conclusion that other partnership initiatives
with an international focus are desirable and doable. An Institute for German Engineering
is under consideration as is a degree in Business and German.
- A professor in the Department of Psychology has developed a research model for change
which has broad applications in healthcare and industry. This professor's research is
central to the Health Promotion Partnership and serves as a model for both quality and
success in attracting extramural support.
- A Master's in Communication Studies.
- A Master's in Information Resources Management.
- A four-year accelerated bachelor's/M.B.A. (Target date for degree proposal is July 1,
1999.)
- An Interdisciplinary Master's in Liberal Arts.
- A self-designed Interdisciplinary liberal arts degree.
- Exploration of new combined majors. For example, environment and communications, major
in arts management including internships, music and communications, and music and
engineering (sound/recording engineering).
- An interdisciplinary Film Studies major. (Target approval date is 1999.)
- A leadership minor being developed by Student Affairs, University College and some
departments in Arts and Sciences.
- The Center for Humanities offers a major public program on a humanities subject each
year.
- Other cooperative programs between the professional schools, the focus areas or the
partnetships will continue to evolve. For example, the burgeoning healthcare industry
coupled with shifting demographics would point to a partnership between languages, Spanish
in particular, and healthcare.
Resources
- The Liberal Arts Core will always have a set of unique disciplines that attract majors
for the discipline itself. The University must continue to support the option of a liberal
arts education within an institution where there are several professional colleges.
Because the immediate application of a liberal arts major is not always obvious, it will
be important that the value and mission of the Liberal Arts Core be articulately defined.
The mission of the Liberal Arts Core will evolve to reflect the changing mission of the
University, the external environment, the expectations of current and future students and
disciplinary considerations. Furthermore, the delivery of a general education curriculum
containing core values must be offered by superb teachers using learner-centered pedagogy
improved with the benefits of innovations in technology. (See Goal #3, Compelling Learning
Experiences.)
Challenges
As was noted by the NEASC Accreditation Site Visit Team:
...there is a constructive tension between an institutional imperative of not trying
to be all things to all people and the reality that there must be "cash cow" net
contribution programs to help sustain a viable portfolio balance vis-à-vis high
cost, distinctive and/or strong programs.
- Maintaining that tension as a constructive force is a considerable test of the
University's flexibility and inventiveness. In addition, the Accreditation Team referred
to efforts to reform general education in recent years. The team suggested that the
University "redouble its efforts to reinvigorate and enhance the General Education
program."
- Augment and adjust the Program Contribution Analysis to encourage interdisciplinary and
collaborative programs and instruction.
- Resolve questions regarding rewards and incentives surrounding the Liberal Arts Core and
general education.
- Maintain that which is the heart of a university-liberal learning. All students need to
be stimulated and provoked by the great minds of the past and present in order to ensure
that there will be a canon of great thought evolving in the future. A worthy university
education must give students the opportunity to analyze, communicate, imagine, critique
and think in-depth about issues of values and civic obligation. The study of ethics,
philosophy, history, and literature among other disciplines traditional in colleges of
liberal education are essential touchstones in the process of becoming a lifelong learner
and responsible citizen.
Back to Top
GOAL #3 — Compelling Learning
Experiences in the Learner-Centered University
The University must continue to create compelling learning experiences to attract the
excellent student, to reach out to the increasingly heterogeneous nature of the student
body, and to stimulate the student discouraged by years of mediocre educational
experiences or pedagogy incompatible with a his/her individual learning style. The need
for powerful learning experiences exists at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of
study. In addition, learning experiences must consider the continued need for diversity of
age, race, ethnicity and gender as a desirable force for cultural and intellectual
enrichment.
Rationale
The combined effect of higher costs for education, decreased public support in direct
allocations to institutions or financial aid to students, and the application of the
"latest and hottest" technological innovation will create an increasingly
competitive environment for higher education. As the economy expands and grows more fluid
in a global marketplace, students may choose to follow industry and study in other,
possibly multiple, countries. The boundaries of citizenship and language may be of less
significance in the selection of a university.
In addition, research on human learning has persuaded the educational community that
there are a multitude of learning styles, all of them valid. Consequently, just as one
cannot teach all students effectively with one style, one can no longer judge what is
learned with a single testing technique. Research has shown that widely used standardized
tests are biased toward particular socio-economic groups or one gender. This awareness has
lead to national concern for other methods of determining learning outcomes as a more
broadly based set of goals. There are both external expectations and internal advantages
to having more documentation on learning outcomes. Externally, one has more data to
support claims of quality, underscore needs and seek support. Internally, the work of
programs and individuals is more effectively assessed. This allows for appropriate
determination of where development initiatives are essential.
The University is moving toward a teaching- and learner-centered university in which
faculty are given appropriate development opportunities to form or acquire new pedagogical
techniques. In this environment a teacher sets the stage for experiential or active
learning, for example, in which the student approaches problem solving as a partner with
the teacher and other graduate and/or undergraduate students.
Creating much of the future educational scenario is guesswork, but one highly probable
factor is that selection of a college experience(s) will have less to do with location and
tradition and more to do with career tracking. Any institution struggling to maintain the
status quo will lose its competitive edge leaving the innovative entrepreneurial
institution to corner the market. At the same time, an institution that is solely directed
toward preparing specialists/professionals to the exclusion of educating citizens as
strong individualistic thinkers with solid analytical, critical, imaginative and
communication skills risks losing the fundamental value of a university education.
Now more than ever, universities will be charged with providing compelling learning
experiences to attract and retain students. The creation of these experiences cannot rest
solely on what sells but what ensures quality for the continued development of an educated
citizenry diverse in its ideological perspectives. In addition, universities will be
required to address the needs of a more diverse population among its faculty, staff and
students as well as preparing its students for interactions with a more diverse world in a
global economy.
Major Steps Taken to Date
- The introduction of URI 101, a course designed to introduce students to the world of
higher education-its traditions and values as well as the nitty-gritty of library and
computer facilities-is part of a larger initiative to focus on the quality of the freshmen
year experience.
- Development of partnerships in which students and faculty work in tandem on research
projects. There are currently four partnerships within the focus areas (see Goal #1) that
encourage undergraduate and graduate student involvement in research projects.
- The Ph.D. in Education (offered jointly with Rhode Island College) serves as a strong
link to area public schools as we recruit practicing educators and support their
practice-based research.
Change in Progress
- The most successful integration of the new paradigm is in the Partnership for the
Coastal Environment with undergraduate and graduate students working in research teams
with faculty and staff.
- The University is exploring current applications of technology, distance learning and
the virtual university. For example, to determine what of the new pedagogy that technology
makes possible is desirable and doable for URI.
- Universal access (ensuring that all students have a personal computer) has been
identified as a top priority goal. (Target date is 2000.)
- The continuing need for new perspectives is being explored in emerging fields that cross
disciplines, such as cognitive studies.
Programs such as African and African-American
Studies and Women's Studies were originally developed in response to areas of subject
matter, content and perspective that were lacking in the University's curriculum. They are
now important independent disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of study in their own
right.
- URI's teacher education programs are moving toward an outcomes perspective. With URI's
leadership, implementation of the Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards, which will be
used by the Rhode Island Department of Education to license beginning teachers, means that
all Rhode Island institutions of higher education which prepare teachers must work to
assure that recommended candidates meet the Beginning Teacher Standards.
- There will be an RFP for additional partnerships within the focus areas. As these
partnerships increase, so too will the number of faculty, staff and students participating
in partnered learning and research.
- Examples of areas in which the University currently is focusing its efforts to provide
engaging learning experiences include the following:
- International Study: through one-to-one exchanges, affiliations, and membership
in various consortia offering international programs, about ten percent of each
undergraduate class studies abroad each year. Current trends see increasing number of
students seeking internships, experiences in developing countries, and study to complement
their major.
The Center for International Engineering-an interdisciplinary, dual degree
program between the College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences-is now in the
process of expanding by establishing an administrative and residential center for the
University's International Program. A grant proposal is being submitted to the U.S.
Department of Education to expand the program into Spanish languages and culture.
- Service Learning: The University Year for Action Internship program is now more
than twenty years old. Engaging in service to the community as a step toward modeling
civic awareness and a sense of place in and responsibility to the larger community is now
expected of all students in URI 101. The Feinstein Center for Service Learning is central
to the plans for broadening the base of student involvement in public service.
- URI 101: this course is designed to orient the traditional freshman but
represents the beginning of learning experiences designed for a particular set of
students. Beyond traditional academic learning, these courses will address issues of
creating learning communities.
- Honors Program: a new director of the program was appointed to build on past
success, make revisions, expand offerings, enhance the use of technology, and address a
growing population of students who excel.
- Prestigious Academic Achievement: a faculty member is assigned to work with high
achievement undergraduate and graduate students to obtain prestigious scholarships and
fellowships such as the Truman, Eisenhower, Danforth, Fulbright, and Goldwater.
- Diversity Initiatives: the opening of the Multicultural Center in the fall of
1999 will provide a focal point for learning opportunities surrounding issues of
diversity.
- Fundraising Initiatives: recent proposals to the Champlin Foundations have been
coordinated to focus on institutional needs. For example, FY97 saw proposals focused on
technology/computer-based learning laboratories. Proposals in FY98 centered on laboratory
improvements.
- Faculty Technology Fellows: to ensure creative uses of technology, the first
group of Faculty Technology Fellows, comprised of 40 faculty from all colleges,
participated in extensive training and ongoing sharing of classroom technologies to
enhance learning. The Instructional Development Program (IDP) and Information and
Instructional Technology Services (ITTS) jointly sponsored the Fellows Program.
- Information Gathering/Literacy: to prepare undergraduates for today's information
age, the library is developing a new undergraduate course in information gathering and
understanding.
- Learning Communities: these communities take many different forms. All share the
goals of providing coherence and academic support to students. Examples:
Enrollment of 25 students simultaneously in a section of composition and in a large
section of psychology and encouragement of them to form academic support and study groups
among themselves;
Bring together three or four courses around a theme and include team teaching, common
assignments and collaborative learning across disciplines.
- Teacher-Centered and Learner-Centered: support of new teaching and learning
initiatives by the IDP, the Faculty Technology Fellows Program, and the Feinstein Faculty
Fellows Program.
- Experiential Learning: development and implementation of models that bring both
undergraduate and graduate students into research projects where experiential learning is
a critical component of their experience. An example is the Coastal Partnership which
involved 48 undergraduates and 18 graduate students in AY97-98.
- Internships: The UYA internship program continues to grow so that now almost ten
percent of URI students participate in a semester-long, full-time internship program. A
growing number of UYA-affiliated programs are available in international settings.
- Capstone Experience: the majority of degree-granting programs require students to
complete a final project which serves as the definitive expression and demonstration of
learning-both theory and application-in their undergraduate major.
- Enrichment Opportunities for Faculty: supported by Faculty Development Funds, the
Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs arranged for several members
of the Department of Natural Resources Science to attend a conference in February of 1998
entitled "Faculty Work in Learning Organizations." They returned with several
ideas for expanding experiential learning and addressing concerns of workload and
obligations specific to the traditional department structure. The Office of the Provost is
using its portion of the Faculty Development Fund to support a number of similar
enrichment opportunities for faculty.
Future Plans
- With rapidly changing demographics, it will continue to be important to provide
immersion or entry-level experiences to orient students who arrive with very different
levels of preparedness. Due to the inadequacy of previous educational and environmental
experiences, some of these students will be seriously challenged by the most basic of
university entry level work. One type of challenge is the passive, non-engaged student
because as the expectation for higher education has increased, student engagement has
decreased. This makes active learning all the more important. At the same time, however,
other students will be ready for more advanced and challenging learning opportunities. As
the age of college students becomes more varied, the potential for entering students
capable of attacking intellectually rigorous subjects in one area and needing supplemental
work in another poses an even greater challenge.
- Flexible and imaginative curricular offerings will be needed in all programs.
- Curricular offerings designed for different styles of learning; for example, right and
left brain, emotional, visual learning, and gender-based learning styles will be
necessary.
- Faculty trained in new learner-centered education techniques and technology applications
will be critical to the success and stability of the University.
- URI's proposed School of Education will organize faculty into program teams to ensure
the quality of student learning outcomes.
- An emphasis on increasing and sustaining diversity will be central to the validity of
creating a community that mirrors the society our University community is committed to
serve.
- The Library faculty will be engaged directly in the University's teaching program
through development of information studies courses which are linked directly with course
work in majors.
- The model International Engineering Program will expand to include other languages.
Engineering programs combining French and Spanish as well as German, and business majors
incorporating languages are already in the planning stages. Other examples of
incorporating languages "across the curriculum" and international study will
follow. For example Nursing/Spanish and/or Portuguese, Pharmacy/Spanish, and Human Science
& Services/Spanish.
- Offering at least one critical, non-western language through the intermediate level will
be considered.
- In order to increase our undergraduate population of international students and be
competitive for international graduate students, the University will consider offering
English as a Foreign Language.
- The Office of International Education will work with faculty to expand short-term
international programs and projects, particularly for lower-division students.
- Many faculty are engaged in research internationally, but their international expertise
is not always reflected in undergraduate courses. There are several needs the University
plans to address: 1) to centralize information about who is working where so we have
country-specific information for all purposes; 2) to find ways to infuse
"international perspectives" and "cross-cultural understanding" across
the curriculum.
- The new Vice Provost for Information Services and Dean of the University Libraries has
led the University in an initiative known as "99 by 99" - a commitment to have
99% of the campus wired and networked by 1999.
- Universal access or the availability of computers for all students is being considered.
- Green Hall will be refurbished to provide a combination of enrollment services to
students in one location, including the Offices of Financial Aid, Admissions, Registrar
and Bursar. While this may seem tangential to pedagogical issues, it sends an important
message to our students about the University's concern for their welfare and helps to bond
them to the community.
- Theme Dormitories or living communities are being planned in dormitories based on
academic foci and/or quality of life and lifestyle concerns. Examples of such dormitories
include: Wellness, German Language and Engineering, Honors.
- Flexible models of delivering the curriculum are being considered. For example, length
and time of courses, increased use of internships, and increasing diversity in the age,
cultural needs and personal lifestyles of the student body.
- Summer Session will be enhanced. Areas under discussion include expanded credit-bearing
offerings, co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities, and a more active cultural
and intellectual environment. (A decrease in tuition is being implemented in the Summer of
1998 to allow broader access of summer offerings to students.)
Resources
- Low faculty-student ratio learning experiences and more numerous educational services
cost more. The goal is to balance the possible savings of, for example, the virtual
university model-with classes offered long distance through, for example, PictureTel or
the Internet-with the labor intensive work of other learner-centered experiences. The
University will need to be vigilant about seeking revenue-building activities to offset
the cost of more expensive but attractive and successful learning models.
Challenges
- Maintain quality. An important factor in meeting this challenge is strong and continuing
faculty development. Faculty must be given the opportunity to prepare for a
learner-centered environment. Often new faculty are more driven by a research model which
is not inclusive of undergraduates in general. The university must strengthen faculty
development-and match these goals with faculty reward structures-in order to ensure
success as a learner-centered educational institution.
- Strong support for effective faculty use of technology in teaching is important. With
the rise of the virtual university, it is conceivable that elite private institutions and
highly accessible public institutions will have the potential to offer the same courses.
- Change will be constant and require evolving plans with flexible structures and a
capacity for rapid response. The determining factor in maintaining a reputation for
quality will rest on several factors such as one or more of the following:
- Curricular innovation;
- Opportunities for faculty training in experiential and learner-centered pedagogy;
- Marketing;
- Co-ops, internships, study abroad (or in space, in oceans);
- Development of and support for learner-centered curricula and pedagogy;
- Affordability of course "packages";
- Hardware and other techno-gadgetry;
- Infusion of diversity into the curriculum;
- The recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students are critical to the
cultural and intellectual richness essential to a high-quality learning environment;
- Rewards and incentives surrounding development of innovative pedagogy.
Back to Top
GOAL #4 — The Research
Mission: Growth and Application
Promote growth in the University's research enterprise consistent with our status as
the State's flagship research institution of higher education.
Rationale
As stated in the Mission Statement, our land-grant legacy assigns to the University a
vital role in knowledge creation and knowledge application. This is most tangibly embodied
in the University's research programs, programs we are focusing now in the four focus
areas as well as the Liberal Arts Core, and the associated graduate degree programs.
Within the public sector, the University is the only institution with an explicit
research mission. In addition, compared to other institutions in the State with a research
mission, the University is unique in having the role to create knowledge which serves the
particular needs of the citizens of the State. Research for its own sake, therefore, is
complemented by research which fosters economic development and addresses the particular
challenges of this State and region.
Growth of the research and graduate mission of the University is evidenced by the
growth in extramural funding for its faculty's research activities. Since 1966-67, this
support has increased by a factor of 12 as displayed below.
Research Dollars:
1966-67 $ 3,485,128
1974-75 $ 9,970,226
1984-85 $ 26,491,691
1996-97 $ 42,635,561
1966-67
1974-75
1984-85 $ 2,874
1996-97 $ 3,125
1966-67
1974-75
1984-85 $ 115
1996-97 $ 82
The University is committed to achieving Carnegie Research I classification. The basic
requirement for this classification is directly correlated with the amount of federal
grant money received in a given fiscal year. The value of achieving this distinction,
however, goes far beyond a simple numeric classification. In essence, it would place the
University among the nation's top research institutions. This in turn would enhance URI's
reputation which would serve the institution well when seeking funding from private
foundations and corporations in addition to federal sources.
Major Steps Taken to Date
- Merged the Graduate School and the Research Office and established the position of Vice
Provost for Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach and appointed the first incumbent.
- Reconfigured the associate deanship in the Graduate School by creating two half-time
positions with each of these also funded in part by the Research Office. This has helped
integrate the work of the Graduate School more completely and permitted a more efficient
division of labor.
- Formulated and widely distributed "Principles for the Allocation of Graduate
Assistants." The long-standing distribution of GAs was, and continues to be, revised
to reflect these principles.
- Established four partnerships (Sensors and Surface Technology, Public Health Partnership
in Infectious Disease Control, Partnership for the Coastal Environment, and the Health
Promotion Partnership) to investigate multidisciplinary meta-issues in a teaching/research
collaborative.
- An example of this approach is provided by the Partnership for the Coastal Environment
which has involved graduate and undergraduate students in over 50 identifiable research
projects with faculty and professionals from the Providence Gas Company and the Department
of Environmental Management.
Change in Progress
- Developing evaluation metrics for the first four partnerships which are coming to the
end of their three-year funding cycle. (Target date: Spring 1998.)
- Solicitation of proposals for a second round of partnership funding during Spring 1998.
- Development of a new intellectual property policy in cooperation with the Vice Provost
for Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach and the Council for Research. (Target date:
July 1998.)
- Revision of the overhead policy to provide resources in the Office of the Provost and
Vice President for Academic Affairs to support research. (ongoing)
- Formulation of a new disclosure statement to provide clear guidance for researchers
regarding university policies. (Target date: July 1998.)
- Continuing to refine the allocation of GAs consistent with the established
"Principles for the Allocation of Graduate Assistants."
- Proposing modifications to the tuition policies for out-of-state graduate students who
serve as GAs and RAs to bring these policies into compliance with federal agency funding
limitations and to make them consistent with those at peer institutions.
Future Plans
- Continue efforts to achieve extramural funding levels consistent with a Carnegie
Research I classification.
- Increase support for the Council for Research.
- Co-locate the graduate school and research office for enhancement of leadership
oversight and functional efficiencies.
- Expand the undergraduate research program and related opportunities to enhance
undergraduate educational experiences.
- Institute a summer graduate research fellowship program.
- Allocate new graduate assistantships to support focus areas.
- Develop University-wide, coordinated recruitment for graduate programs using the Web as
well as more traditional methods.
- Provide support for the University Libraries sufficient to meet the demands of the
continuing research activities. This includes personnel and capital resources to meet the
new technological advances in access to supplement the traditional form of collection
ownership.
- Join Internet II to provide the level of Internet connectivity appropriate and necessary
for our research enterprise. A $350,000 NSF grant was secured recently to help with the
costs of this.
- Reallocate research resources toward the focus areas as identified in Goal #1.
The
University has some resources which can be redirected to aid the research effort within
the focus areas which could make it distinctive and productive. These resources include
some personnel resources. The partnerships and the funds associated with them, and
equipment matching funds can strengthen the focus areas if judiciously deployed. These
need to be supplemented by additional funds from State allocations and industry to
maintain and augment the laboratory and equipment infrastructure.
- Define within each focus area several existing or potential research programs to act as
signature programs.
Key programs must be identified in each focus area which will
attract students and produce national and international recognition. Research programs
must have some regional uniqueness and, at the least, the potential to garner government
and industrial support and attract both undergraduate and graduate students. Examples to
date include the addition of positions in the Cancer Prevention Research Consortium, the
development of research capacity associated with the National Center on Public Education
and Social Policy.
- Develop and articulate the role of research as teaching.
The graduate model of
mentoring student researchers in scholarly activities is one of the highest forms of
teaching. More involvement of undergraduates in the excitement of leading edge scholarship
and research can enliven the entire educational enterprise and attract students from
throughout the country and the world. Again, we would refer to the example of the
Partnership for the Coastal Environment which has involved almost 50 students in its
research initiatives.
Resources
- Adequate matching funds. Increasingly, public funding agencies are demanding significant
institutional matches, usually in explicit, tangible form. To be an important player in
many funding arenas requires resources to meet these demands.
- Research infrastructure. Compliance, pre- and post-award financial control, adequate
support services, and research-friendly employment practices are all insufficient to meet
the stated goal of achieving Research I prominence.
- Facilities. The appropriate level of facilities necessary to support various programs
including health, safety and EPA standards, as well as systems to support grants
accounting must be identified.
- More resources are needed for start-up packages for new faculty.
- New ways to provide access to scholarly information in face of rapidly rising cost of
scholarly journals.
- More personnel resources are needed to support research programs and the research
office.
- Transfer research and grants accounting from the Vice President for Business and Finance
to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
- Technology and Internet II capability. A campus backbone which is sufficiently robust to
support Internet II throughout the campus is vital. In addition, technology support
services must be sufficiently abundant to service the research community.
Challenges
GOAL #5 — Outreach and
Economic Development: A Core Component of the University's Obligation
As the only land-, sea and urban-grant university, the University of Rhode Island is
charged with a unique obligation to the citizens of the State, the region and the nation.
Rationale
As the State's flagship land-grant institution, URI has a tradition of outreach through
the long-standing model of the premier outreach program, Cooperative Extension.
Historically, outreach applications were limited to agriculture and, later, extended to
the disciplines located in the College of Resource Development. The decision was made to
enhance and heighten outreach activities in quantity and quality as a means of enriching
the profile of the University.
The current concept of outreach places it centrally as the meeting place of research,
teaching and service, and good outreach often encompasses all three. The positive outcome
of this is that outreach can result in more expeditious development of partnerships that
surface for the duration of the outreach project. At its completion, the faculty, staff
and students are "reabsorbed" into other projects or continuing partnerships of
which outreach was one component. In addition, the place of outreach in the public
university moving into the next millennium is to serve as an economic engine contributing
to the economic development of the State. While the details of the recently awarded Slater
Technology grants have been discussed under the focus areas and research, those
initiatives stand firmly within the purview of outreach.
Major Steps Taken to Date
- The Blue Ribbon Committee for Outreach appointed by the Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs studied outreach at several other land-grant universities. Based on
national trends and successful models, the decision was made to recognize and
institutionalize two distinct tracks for outreach at URI.
- University-wide outreach which provides interaction between and among internal and
external public and/or private constituencies to address problems, undertake initiatives
and create dynamic partnerships.
Examples include Sea Grant, the Office of Marine
Programs, Performing Arts Touring Programs, and Health Promotion Partnership programs.
- Cooperative Extension (CE) which involves a partnership between the State and the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA). CE programs are defined by the terms of the
agreement between the State and USDA in the awarding of CE funds.
There are six program
areas for which CE funding is available: Landscape Horticulture, Aquaculture and
Fisheries, Food Safety and Nutrition, Natural Resources and the Environment, Community
Economic Development, and Youth and Family Development
- When research and graduate education were combined under the purview of one vice
provost, outreach was included as part of the administrative title and assignment. A Vice
Provost for Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach was appointed. This gives outreach a
"place at the table" where institutional priorities are set.
- An Interim Director of CE was appointed with the mandate to expand CE outreach
activities beyond the College of Resource Development in order to capitalize on the
strengths of the faculty in all six of the program areas. For the first time in URI's
history, there are faculty with CE assignments and CE support outside of the College of
Resource Development.
Change in Progress
- The Interim Director of Cooperative Extension recently submitted a report outlining
recommendations for the CE office. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs has
adopted the proposed plan and is moving ahead to fill the position of Director of Academic
Outreach and Director of Cooperative Extension. (Target date: July 1, 1998)
- The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is working with the Vice Provost for
Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach and the Interim CE Director to define the
University-wide role of outreach. The current working definition and expectation of
outreach (culled, in part, from UMASS, from the Michigan State University, and from the
Blue Ribbon Committee on Outreach at URI) is as follows:
Academic outreach is a form of scholarship that cuts across teaching, research, and
public service. It involves generating, transmitting, applying, and preserving knowledge
for the direct benefit of external audiences. Academic outreach connects the University in
mutually beneficial relationships with external audiences in ways that are consistent with
university and unit missions.
- There are numerous areas of the University involved in significant outreach efforts. A
few examples follow:
- Performances, exhibits and concerts in the Fine Arts Center attract over 80,000 people
each year and hundreds more are served by touring performances or ensembles.
- The Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design received grants to date,
catalogue, repair and exhibit historic quilts throughout the State.
- The Department of Economics has several faculty who advise on matters of economic growth
and consumer interest in print and electronic media.
- Faculty in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition advise individuals and
healthcare organizations on dietary matters and fast food restaurants on bacteria control.
- Students, staff and faculty in Exercise Science work with recovering heart attack
patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program.
- Students, staff and faculty in the College of Pharmacy run special programs for seniors
to monitor medication interaction.
Future Plans
- The Table of Organization places outreach and CE under the Vice Provost for Graduate
Studies, Research and Outreach. A search is underway to appoint a Director of Academic
Outreach and Director of Cooperative Extension who will report to that Vice Provost.
- Faculty and staff will be encouraged to participate more widely in outreach activities
as outreach activities create more partnerships with the "real world."
- Extant outreach activities will be identified and marketed more effectively to take
advantage of high profile activities.
- The continued growth of partnerships, internships, co-op activities and new initiatives
such as paid workstudy leaves will encourage students to participate in outreach
activities.
- The Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will work with the
campus community to define and refine outreach activities and their place within
expectations for faculty.
- Establish one stop shopping for outreach with a web page and proactive establishment of
external partnerships. (Target date: Fall 1998)
- A long-term goal is more effective and coordinated marketing and packaging of outreach
activities.
- Tie outreach to the focus areas:
- Marine and the Environment-aquaculture, biotech, water analysis;
- Health-CPRC, cardiac rehabilitation, elderly medications; smoking, weight management and
elderly health teams;
- Children, Families and Communities-homeless, child care, K-12 education;
- Enterprise and Advanced Technology-agriculture, manufacturing.
Resources
- In the traditional CE model, the State and its citizens have come to expect services in
return for their tax dollar. This is exacerbated by the fact that the State expects the
University to provide research expertise basic to the healthy functioning of the State and
its economic growth. In fact, both research and outreach are more than functions implied
by the land-grant mission; they are fundamental expectations of the State. Efforts must be
made to monitor the expansion of outreach so as not to create expectations that exceed
available resources. Furthermore, outreach models should include extramural funding
through traditional sources-government, foundations, USDA CE support-or innovative
partnerships with dollars equaling expertise, or the bartering of services.
- The expansion of outreach will require investment in sufficient staff to monitor
progress and cost. CE reporting requires additional staff to manage those projects and
budgets. The combining of all outreach efforts in one place will enhance the ability of
the University to demonstrate benefits and publicize successes. However, the initial
investment will have to be made in adequate staffing.
Challenges
- The Outreach Committee gathered data and found fairly extensive outreach activities
already in effect at URI but not clearly identified as such. A clear definition of
outreach and expectations for faculty, staff and students in this area is necessary. The
administration and the Director of Academic Outreach and Director of Cooperative Extension
have a major educational task to accomplish before the University-wide outreach model will
become part of the institution's identity.
- Faculty, staff and students will need clear guidelines regarding rewards and incentives
as they apply to outreach. For faculty, there is the question the weight and value of
outreach for promotion and/or tenure.
- Outreach must be recognized and designed as a truly cross-cutting activity in order that
the benefits will become most obvious in a learner-centered environment where experiential
learning takes place in the field.
- Outreach needs to be viewed as a University-wide obligation and part of the University's
mission.
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