Executive Policy 12.213 Executive Policy 12.213



Title

Establishment and Review of Organized Research Units

Header

Executive Policy Chapter 12, Research
Executive Policy EP 12.213, Establishment and Review of Organized Research Units
Effective Date:  October 2014
Dates Amended:  August 2014, April 1991
Responsible Office: Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation
Governing Board of Regents Policy 12.206, Establishment and Review of Organized Research Units
Review Date:  August 2019

I. Purpose

To (1) define Organized Research Units, (2) to describe their purpose, administration, scope, funding, and faculty, and (3) to acknowledge certain exemptions from some of the policy's aspects for certain units.

II. Definitions

An Organized Research Unit (ORU) is a Board of Regents approved, extradepartmental administrative structure which provides a locus for faculty, staff, and students to engage in focused, collaborative research and training activities. Organized Research Units exist at the level of a School or College (Level V) and are supported in part by the Organized Research Budget (UOH-102).

III. Executive Policy

Authority for the establishment and termination of Organized Research Units (ORUs) is vested solely in the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai‘i, acting upon the recommendation of the President after appropriate review and recommendations by the relevant faculty senate and administrative officers. No ORU may be formally established until review as prescribed by the President has been completed. Once established, an ORU will be reviewed periodically at intervals of five years or less, in conformance with Board of Regents' Bylaws and Policies. The Board of Regents' policy on the establishment and review of ORUs is supplemented by the Executive Policy promulgated in the ensuing paragraphs.
A.    PURPOSE

1.    ORUs are established to advance the University's research and training mission. They foster and support interdisciplinary faculty research activities, and they assist undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate 
students by giving them access to research opportunities, facilities, and equipment. ORUs benefit the State of Hawai‘i directly through programs of applied research, extension service, and training in areas which meet community and regional human and economic needs. ORUs provide an efficient, visible, and effective means of pooling appropriate expertise, equipment, and management resources.

B.    ADMINISTRATION

1.    The chief executive officer of an ORU must be a tenured member of the faculty, unless some other arrangement is specifically authorized by the President. ORU Directors who hold Executive/Managerial positions are analogous to Deans of academic schools and colleges, and they are excluded from an appropriate bargaining unit. The terms of their service, including appointment by the Board of Regents upon recommendation by the President, are specified in the Board of Regents Bylaws and Policies on Executive/Managerial Personnel [Appendix 9-14]. ORU Directors who hold faculty appointments are analogous to Chairs of academic departments in that they may be included in an appropriate bargaining unit. Faculty Directors are appointed by the Vice President for Research and Graduate Education. Faculty Directors serve at the pleasure of the University and, like Excluded Directors with return rights, they are appointed for one year at a time.

C.    SCOPE

1.    Most ORUs are interdisciplinary in scope, involving faculty, staff, and students from two or more areas of instruction and research. There are some, however, which focus on a single field of study and exist as separate entities in part because they are larger and administratively more complex than the associated academic department(s) or program(s). ORUs are normally established and maintained only in areas where the University has intrinsic research advantages or particular capabilities to respond to special needs. Such advantages and capabilities are considered long-term. No ORU will be established or maintained if its goals are short-term, if its objectives are essentially the same as those of an existing department or other unit within the relevant campus, or if its objectives can be accomplished just as effectively within an existing University administrative structure.

D.    FUNDING

1.    Core support for an ORU is provided by State general funds through the Organized Research Budget (UOH-102). Additional support is provided by extramural funds associated with specific research and training projects undertaken by the ORU. In most cases, funding is obtained from both State and Federal sources, the ratio of external to core funding is greater than one, and more than one external funding source is involved. Private funding can also be important in certain instances. Solicitation and administration of external grants and contracts, i.e., funds other than outright gifts and apart from appropriations by the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i, for the establishment and/or maintenance of ORUs, as well as for more informal arrangements such as consortia, offices, programs, bureaus, laboratories, and the like, must be processed through the University's Office of Research Administration and require the approval of the University's Director of Research.

E.    FACULTY

1.    State funding enables ORUs to be assigned permanent faculty positions. Instructional (I), Research (R), Specialist (S), and Agent (A) faculty may be employed by or affiliated with ORUs, and an ORU can serve as a locus of tenure. Fractional appointments and split appointments for faculty from other academic units are permitted in ORUs to foster interdisciplinary research and to encourage flexibility in responding to opportunities offered by external sponsors of research and training. Such appointments may be supported by a mix of State, Federal, and private funds, and faculty may be attached to more than one unit or department.

F.    EXCEPTIONS

1.    For historical and other reasons, certain ORUs are exempt from some aspects of the policies and procedures that apply to organized research units generally. The nature of the exemption(s) is set forth in separate documents for each unit.

IV. Delegation of Authority

There is no policy specific delegation of authority.

V. Contact Information

Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation
Phone Number: (808) 956-5006
Email: uhovpri@hawaii.edu

VI. References

    A. Link to superseded Executive Policies in old format https://www.hawaii.edu/policy/archives/ep/

    B. Link to Administrative Procedures in old format https://www.hawaii.edu/policy/archives/apm/sysap.php

VII. Exhibits and Appendices

No Exhibits and Appendices found

Approved

    Signed    
    David Lassner    
    October 31, 2014    
    Date    
    President

Topics

No Topics found.


Attachments

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