|
|
|
[Annual Reports Menu] [Report Table of Contents]
Annual Report
on
Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
at the
University of Michigan
FY2001
Fawwaz T. Ulaby
Vice President for Research
Delivered to the
Regents of the University
January 17, 2002
Full-color PDF version of remarks (9 MB)
PDF version with B&W photos (3 MB)
Previous Section | Next Section
Report Table of Contents
- The Impact of UM Research on Society (Video Transcript)
- Summary of Research Expenditures and Awards
- Why Are We Successful?
- The ÒCostÓ of Success
Appendices of Tables and Charts
Table 1: Volume of Research Expenditures by Sponsor
Table 2: Total Research Expenditures by School, College and Other Units
Table 3: Research and Research-Related Community Service and Instructional Support Expenditures by School, College and Other Units
Table 4: Summary of Research Proposals by Sponsor Group
Table 5: Summary of Research Proposals by Unit
Table 6: Summary of Research Awards by Sponsor Group
Table 7: Summary of Research Awards by Unit
IV. The "Cost" of Success
As we look to the future we are faced with two intertwined questions:
- What do we need to do to continue to be successful in attracting research funding?
- What are the costs of success?
Michigan's impressive achievements in research rest upon our faculty's ability to continue to compete successfully for research resources on a global scale. While creativity and persistence are essential to remaining in the forefront of their disciplines, the faculty also rely on an infrastructure that provides:
- clusters of complementary colleagues,
- state-of-the-art specialized equipment and technical support,
- access to archives and research sites around the world (as well as outer space!), and
- interaction with the brightest graduate and undergraduate students in the nation.
The requirement for resources is relentless, as is the competition, and we cannot take for granted that the synergy of creativity and infrastructure will be maintained without diligent attention, planning, and organizational commitment.
As we face tight budgets and the many legitimate competing demands for limited funds, we must factor into our resource allocation decisions how easy it is to fall behind in providing a superlative climate for research. Investments in some disciplines require many years to yield visible results. In some instances, failing to keep pace may leave us without the capacity to participate in newly emerging, significant intellectual areas or to ever catch up once we fall behind! Other institutions have demonstrated the capacity to focus research resources in order to leap ahead of their peers, including Michigan, in critical areas of research. While Michigan has always prided itself on remaining competitive across a wide array of disciplines, this approach can only be sustained with an aggressive, comprehensive investment plan.
And what if we continue to succeed at the prodigious rate we have demonstrated over the past ten years? What are the potential costs associated with heeding the admonition to compete and grow? In addition to those implied above, UM will need facilities well beyond those currently envisioned. We will face greater complexity in administering grants and contracts. The demands will grow for ensuring compliance with the ever expanding volume of Federal and State regulations. And we must always be aware of the need to balance the demands on our faculty to maintaining both high-quality instruction and scholarship.
UM needs to carefully assess how to respond to these complexities with the collaboration, as well as under the scrutiny, of the many stakeholders who take an active interest in UM's future. Assessing the proper path for growth and how our institution must continue to develop and transform itself to meet that future is a worthy challenge.
In conclusion, let me leave you with three points. First, all of the indicators suggest that Michigan continues to be a "research star" among US universities. In large part, this is due to our substantial strengths all across the spectrum of academic activity.
Second, we must never forget that most of the credit for UM's success goes to its creative faculty, dedicated staff and eager-to-discover students.
And last, the Administration must maintain an unwavering commitment to providing sufficient internal resources to support our research enterprise. It is this institutional support that serves as an important foundation for our success, and allows the faculty to do their part in maintaining Michigan's prominence as a top research university.
Report Table of Contents | Top | Previous Section | Next Section