 |
|
|
INSIDE IOWA STATE
May 3, 2002
Academic plan will pay out nearly $1.5 million
by Linda Charles
Provost Rollin Richmond calls the academic plan a success.
All the academic colleges, the vice provost for research and the library are
receiving funds from a pool created by the Provost Office to improve faculty
retention, recruitment and diversity. Almost $1.5 million will have been
paid out when the funds are completely disbursed.
The funds are provided through the "academic plan," developed by Richmond in
the fall of 1999. The plan has a number of priorities, including faculty
retention, increased diversity on campus and improved recruitment through
partner accommodation.
"It's my personal view that this plan has worked rather well," Richmond
said. "It has allowed a number of units on campus to recruit individuals
that they might otherwise not have been able to bring to campus. It also has
allowed units to retain individuals, as well as bring individuals here who
increased the diversity of our faculty and staff."
Richmond created the pool of funds through reallocations from his office and
academic units. The pool is used to temporarily fund proposals from various
academic units. In most cases, funds are paid out over a three-year period.
At the end of the pay-out period, units are expected to assume any costs
themselves.
To date, 39 of 55 requests have been funded, for a total of $1.448 million.
The biggest chunks have gone to finding positions for partners of faculty
recruits($483,000) and faculty retention ($443,000). The remainder of the
funds has been allocated for faculty start-up costs ($150,000), research
support ($150,000), faculty recruitment ($130,000), and hiring faculty and
staff who improve campus diversity ($92,000), Richmond said.
The fund got off to a rocky start in FY01. Richmond initially planned to ask
academic units to reallocate 0.5 percent of their budgets annually for three
years to create a $5.8 million pool. However, budget shortfalls forced
Richmond to reduce the allocation to 0.15 percent, creating a first-year
pool of $292,600.
This fiscal year, Richmond reallocated $341,500 within his office to bring
the base allocation up to $634,000. But in March, a state deappropriation
reduced the fund by $222,000, leaving the pool at $412,000. Next fiscal
year, Richmond hopes the pool allocation will be $474,000.
"I think the academic plan has been a very positive mechanism for this
university," Richmond said. "There really is not enough money in it, but
perhaps things are going to get better in the future."
Richmond has accepted the presidency of Humboldt State University in
California and will begin his new duties early this summer.
"Maybe a new provost will be able to allocate more resources to the pool or
be more successful in convincing deans to put more of their resources toward
it," Richmond said.
|
Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-4111
Published by: University Relations,
online@iastate.edu
Copyright © 1995-2001, Iowa State University. All rights reserved.
|
|