Dr. Torr announced that her office would be bringing in experts from NIH, NSF, DOE, and NASA to help faculty learn how to write a winning proposal. They will work with 15 to20 faculty at a time and these presenters will review the proposals once they have been completed. They had a governor who invested state funds in hospital system and they had a single-minded pursuit of federally funded research. They made research fundamental to their mission. Dr. Torr shared that she had plans to visit UAB and Wayne State in Detroit in the near future.
Plans are to reinvest the indirect cost recovery to help researchers be successful.
President Poynor asked Dr. Torr to consider reinstating the Faculty grants in aid. Life Sciences A presentation by Dr. Tom Huff on the VCU Life Sciences Initiative informed senators of this new University program that will support and integrate teaching and scholarship across academic disciplines and campuses. Given the rapid advances in our understanding of how biological life works, with the mapping of the human genome, society is now confronted with the impact of these changes. The university, as a unique institution in society, has responsibility through research, education, and service to answer the questions that must be addressed. The impact of these changes will be seen in such positive ways as the eradication of genetic diseases, extending life expectancy, life-saving pharmaceuticals, computer biochips, and genetically engineered hormones, but it will also lead to difficult moral and ethical questions around DNA screening, and the risk of genetic discrimination.