Chapter 27:

 Research and Sponsored Programs

.
The focus of this chapter is San Francisco State University’s research and sponsored programs. The chapter begins with an historical overview, addressing both issues raised in the institution’s 1991 self-study for WASC and accomplishments between 1990 and 2000. It then discusses endeavors to promote and support research and scholarship and concludes with some recommendations for the future.

.

TEN-YEAR HISTORY

.
The early 90s mark the beginning of change at SFSU from an institution that was only minimally involved in research and sponsored projects to one that is highly involved in such activities. In the university’s 1991 self-study for WASC, it was stated that: "The balance between teaching and research continues to be a source of antagonism for many faculty members and administrators. Some faculty are concerned that the university will be transformed into a research institution at the expense of undergraduate education.… Others claim that involvement in faculty research reinforces and improves one’s instructional methods and techniques."

.
Over the past ten years, this antagonism has greatly diminished, with more and more faculty embracing a balance of teaching and scholarship. One indication is found in the university strategic plan, which recommended that: "The faculty’s academic time should be maximized in a number of ways, such as: …encouraging scholarship that complements teaching… placing a priority on teaching, on scholarship involving students, and on learning." Another indication is the increase in extramural funding (defined for the purposes of this chapter as federal, state, and private dollars secured to support faculty projects) from $12 million in Spring 1991 to $35 million in Spring 2000—a 192% increase. This rapid increase in research and scholarship funding was the direct result of President Corrigan’s decision to move grant and contract endeavors from SFSU’s Foundation to the university—a move that other CSU campuses have seriously given consideration to and that Chancellor Reed has praised.

.

.
In 1992-1993, President Corrigan convened a Blue Ribbon Task Force, headed by Dr. Julien Wade from the College of Business, to review the impact his decision had on grants and contracts. After conducting extensive interviews with research-active faculty and appropriate administrators, the conclusion was to stay the course. Specifically, the foundation was to focus its efforts on business ventures and private giving and the university was to focus on federal, state, and local funding. President Corrigan accepted the task force's recommendations and, as a result, both entities have flourished.

.
At the time of the 1992 WASC visit, SFSU had just hired its first associate vice president for research and sponsored programs, Dr. Paul Fonteyn, and provided five university positions to staff an Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). Since that time, ORSP has expanded to meet the demands concomitant with the increase of extramural dollars and, as importantly, to enhance its pre-award activities—a need highlighted in the 1991 self-study. Presently, ORSP has three staff dedicated to pre-award activities and five dedicated to post-award activities. Pre-award staff help faculty identify funding opportunities (federal, state, and local), develop proposal narratives, and formulate budgets. Post-award staff set up grant accounts and help faculty hire research and clerical assistants and undergraduate and graduate student assistants, complete and send-out purchase orders, and manage grant budgets.

.
The university also upgraded the office director position to an associate dean position and hired a full professor with ten years of experience at the University of California, San Francisco and ten years experience at San Francisco State University. This individual, Dr. Bruce Macher, with the help of the pre-award staff, both assists faculty in the development of competitive proposals and oversees day-to-day operations of ORSP. In 1994, ORSP was relocated to a newly renovated spacious complex, equipped with modern computer equipment and office furniture. Included in this complex are areas for faculty to review grant opportunities and have group discussions needed for the development of complex proposals, and cubicles equipped with phones and computers for use by faculty when working with staff members on grant proposals.

.
In Summer 1994, in an effort to ensure that research and sponsored projects were fully integrated with the academic mission of the university, the associate vice president for research and sponsored programs was given oversight responsibility for the university’s forty centers and institutes (see list at the end of the chapter). The focus of these centers and institutes range from the study of children, youth, and their families (Marian Wright Edelman Institute), to the study of evolutionary theory and conservation (Center for Tropical Studies), to the study of urban policy (Public Research Institute). He was also given responsibility for the Graduate Division. This action resulted in an increase in support for graduate students. One example of this support is a Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) award from the U.S. Department of Education, the first ever awarded to a master's degree institution. The ten graduate students per year participating in this program are supported at a level of $25,000 each. This level of support will become increasingly important as SFSU develops more joint doctoral programs with its University of California partners.

.
In 1999, with the full support and encouragement of the president and provost, ORSP began a Faculty-in-Residence program in an effort to enhance the expertise of the faculty across the campus and to instill an even greater commitment in the university community to research and sponsored programs. Faculty considered for these positions are those with demonstrated leadership qualities who have expressed an interest in promoting extramural support for research and scholarship. After working in ORSP for two years, the faculty members return to their respective departments to continue their research and creative activities, as well as to promote and support those endeavors of their colleagues. SFSU's first faculty member in residence was appointed in Fall 1999—Dr. Mark Phillips, Professor of Secondary Education. During his first year in this position, Dr. Phillips focused his energy on promoting partnerships between SFSU's Colleges of Education and Science and Engineering and the San Francisco Unified School District.

.
Direct Contributions of Research and Sponsored Programs
to the University and Local Community

.
The increase in extramural dollars is the simplest indicator of success, but perhaps not the best. More important indicators are what type of programs were funded, how innovative they were, and what the sources of the awards were; i.e., how competitive. The following are a few examples of programs funded over the past ten years that have had direct impact on SFSU students and faculty and the city of San Francisco.

.
Before 1990, the majority of dollars awarded to SFSU were in the area of education, primarily special education. However, over the past ten years, the award dollars have increased for both training and research [from less than $1 million to approximately $8 million] in the College of Science and Engineering. Four programs supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) form the core of support for the college’s training and research programs and support SFSU's strategic planning themes of learning-centered teaching and diversity: a Bridges to Future program ($194,000), the primary aim of which is to prepare community college students to earn baccalaureate degrees in biomedically-related disciplines (e.g., chemistry, biology); a Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement program ($1,018,000), a program focused on students with unrealized potential to encourage and prepare them for careers in biomedical fields; a Minority Access to Research Careers program, a program focused on preparing high performing junior and senior level students for acceptance into highly competitive Ph.D. programs ($1,524,000); and a second Bridges to Future program ($1,938,000), the aim of which is to prepare SFSU master’s degree students for acceptance into these same competitive Ph.D. programs.

.
As a direct result of these grants, SFSU is now viewed nationally as one of the emerging leaders in the preparation of minority students for entry into Ph.D. programs. Over the past three years, students from SFSU have entered Ph.D. programs offered by such prestigious institutions as Harvard University, Stanford University, and U.C., Berkeley. In addition, the NIH has awarded SFSU two faculty development grants: Support of Continuous Research Excellence program ($2,300,000), a program that supports the research efforts of sixteen faculty members; and a Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions program ($1,800,000), a program that supports collaborative research projects between SFSU and U.C. Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco, as well as the development of core research facilities. In 1999, U.C. Davis and SFSU were awarded, at a level of $3 million, one of two grants nationally to develop training programs for postdoctoral fellows—one of the first two programs supported nationally by the NIH to enhance both the teaching and research skills of postdoctoral fellows.

.
In the curriculum area, SFSU has also made great advances, with the assistance of extramural support, in furthering the strategic planning themes of academic excellence and learning centeredness. In 1998, SFSU had the distinction of being the only university in the United States to have four simultaneously-funded Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) awards. (FIPSE, which only awards 2-3% of the proposals it receives in a given year, is known nationally as an organization that supports curricular innovation.) With these awards, SFSU was able to develop an M.P.H. program, a community health program, a middle school dual credential program, and a student disabilities program.

.
In the area of community service, SFSU was awarded one of the first Corporation for Community Service grants, two Urban Community Service grants from the U.S. Department of Education, and a State of California Community Service grant—grants which support SFSU's strategic planning theme of community engagement. With these grants, the university was able to establish a neighborhood clinic in a local high school, enhance its Step to College program, and provide a tutoring program for children in grades K-3.

.
In 1998, SFSU was awarded its first challenge grant for $450,000 by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—one of only ten universities funded that year. With this grant and additional private donations, the university was able to establish an endowment of $1.5 million in support of a Jewish studies program and an endowed chair. In December 1999, SFSU was awarded a $50,000 planning grant from NEH’s challenge grant office to develop a full proposal to establish a $20 million Pacific Region Humanities Center. It was the only university in the Pacific Region to receive such an award. (The university will not know whether its proposal is successful until Fall 2001 at the earliest.)

.
Research and Scholarly Achievements of our Faculty

.
The increase in extramural support has led to greater academic accomplishments of our faculty. Eight professors who epitomize these accomplishments are Dr. Geoffrey Marcy, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Dr. Thomas Smith, Department of Biology; Professors Ron Caltabiano, Wayne Peterson, and Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Department of Music; Drs. Phillipe Bourgois and James Quesda, Department of Anthropology; and Dr. Caren Colvin, Department of Psychology. Dr. Marcy, with support of NASA, confirmed the existent of planets outside of our solar system, findings that were highlighted both in the most prestigious scientific journals and in national media (NBC news; cover of Time magazine). Although Dr. Marcy is now at U.C. Berkeley, his basic research and findings occurred while he was on the SFSU faculty. Dr. Smith, with support from the National Science Foundation, revealed compelling evidence that ecotones (transition zones between habitats) indeed contribute to the formation of new species by stimulating the process of natural selection, evidence that was published in Science and in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Professors Caltabiano, Peterson, and Sanchez-Gutierrez received highly prestigious composition commissions from Harvard University’s Music Foundation. Drs. Bourgois and Quesada, with support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, documented the complex dynamics of heroin addiction and HIV transmission among homeless drug users, work which has spawned articles in academic journals (e.g., Social Problems), enhanced their classroom teaching, and will culminate in a book and documentary film. Dr. Colvin, with a grant from the National Institute of Justice, has established a model program to place portable computers in police cars in order to get police officers out of their offices and into the neighborhoods.

.

Promotion and Support of Research and Scholarship

.
In the university’s 1991 self-study, as well as its 1998 strategic plan, the need was expressed for greater recognition of faculty efforts in the areas of research and scholarship by the administration and for support of travel and assigned time.

.
Over the past several years, faculty efforts in these areas have been recognized in the retention and promotion process. Faculty who are active in securing extramural support and who publish with greater regularity than their colleagues have received merit awards in recognition of their efforts. Additionally, as a result of the retention and promotion process, faculty now fully realize that research and scholarly activity is carefully considered. It is common knowledge among the faculty that the provost carefully scrutinizes faculty records in the area of research and scholarship and now routinely asks the associate vice president for research and sponsored programs, as well as the dean of faculty affairs and professional development, to review and provide input on tenure and promotion packets. College deans (e.g., College of Science and Engineering and College of Health and Human Services, both of which are composed of faculty in fields in which there is ample extramural support available to support faculty research) consider the acquisition of extramural funding in their retention and promotion recommendations. The university publishes once a month in its CampusMemo the research and scholarly accomplishments of faculty and hosts a university-wide celebration of research and scholarship every three years (alternating with celebrations of teaching and of community service). The university-wide celebration is held in the University Club and is presided over by the provost of the university. Books written by SFSU faculty are displayed; and three faculty members, representative of the high quality of research and scholarly activity conducted at SFSU, present fifteen-minute talks about their work and its impact on their teaching. The Office of Public Affairs and Communications works with faculty in the development of new releases of particularly exciting research and grant awards. These releases have resulted in articles in the New York Times, Discovery, and LA Times, and public appearances on NBC's World News Tonight and local television stations.

.
To help support and encourage faculty to present their research and scholarship at professional meetings, the provost in 1998 established a yearly $50,000 Faculty Travel Program. This program provides up to $600 for airfare in support of peer-reviewed presentations at professional meetings (funding in addition to that provided by the faculty member’s college). Since its inception, $108,000 has been expended in support of 234 faculty national and international presentations.

.
In 1995, President Corrigan established a professional development program for probationary faculty. Each year, nine to ten non-tenured faculty are awarded "sabbaticals" to enhance their research and scholarship. As of Spring 2000, 52 non-tenured faculty members have received these awards (see graph below). Those selected are individuals who have demonstrated exceptional promise. This program has been very beneficial in the recruitment of new faculty and is a clear signal of the value the administration places on research and scholarship.

.

.
Each year the university grants approximately 40 assigned time appointments (0.2 time/semester) for faculty to pursue their research and scholarship. These awards are granted through the provost’s assigned time program. Additionally, ORSP provides an additional ten assigned time appointments in support of research grants and the development of grant proposals.

.
Finally, the university returns 15% of the indirect cost dollars recovered from grants and contracts to the colleges (5%) and departments (10%) whose grants and contracts generate these dollars. Since 1994, the university has distributed $1,110,239 to these units, increasing from $161,711 in academic year 1994-95 to $273,473 in academic year 1998-99. These dollars are used to support graduate students, offset administrative costs attributable to grants and contracts, and support faculty travel.

.

CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

.
Although the university has made great strides in the area of research and sponsored programs, it still faces several challenges. One of the most problematic is the issue of space. The increase in funded projects has engendered a competition for space. Many of the projects require space; yet the funding agencies, for the most part, do not provide support to rent space off campus. Thus, the university has had to use its existing space, some of which was originally classroom space or laboratory space. Also, with the allocation of space for research and sponsored projects has come the need for dollars to renovate that space; this also is a cost that generally cannot be budgeted for in grant proposals.

.
Furthermore, the increased emphasis on research and scholarship has resulted in the need for "start-up" packages for faculty. To date the College of Science and Engineering has been able to meet this need (which can range up to $150,000 per faculty member). Other colleges (namely, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the College of Health and Human Services) are also hiring faculty who need "start-up" packages in order to be successful. But these colleges do not have adequate budgets to enable their deans to provide appropriate-level packages. Thus, new hires in these colleges do not have the resources they need to conduct research and scholarly activities at the same level as their colleagues in the College of Science and Engineering.

.
The development of self-supporting, high-level centers and institutes that promote interdisciplinary research and scholarship will become one of the goals of the future. With the increased complexity of research and scholarship, and the need to develop undergraduate and graduate students who can cross disciplinary boundaries, comes the need to provide environments that promote interdisciplinary research and scholarship. One example of such an evolving center is the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, whose overarching goal is to answer compelling questions about the nature of marine ecosystems and coastal environments and to apply these answers to the solution of environmental problems and the development of environmental policies.

.
The university will also need to establish and support faculty development activities to enhance faculty members’ grant writing and publication skills. As research and scholarship become more important components in the careers of SFSU faculty members, so does the responsibility of the university to provide opportunities for faculty to hone their skills in these areas. Therefore, in the future the university will have to invest in more comprehensive faculty professional development activities that focus on both teaching and research.

.
Centers and Institutes chart to be added soon.

Return to Part Three: Other Areas of University Planning and Implementation | Return to Accreditation | SFSU Home | Top of page