Ohio University President Roderick McDavis spoke at a press conference yesterday at the Edison Biotechnology Institute at The Ridges to highlight the university's research work and his efforts to double OU's research budget.
Currently, all the money OU uses to fund its research projects comes from outside sources -usually the federal government. The university funds none of the research from its own budget, McDavis said, apart from money used to fund the position of vice president for research and his staff.
In his 2002 inaugural address, McDavis said he wanted to make OU a nationally prominent research institution with research funding in excess of $100 million by 2007. This year, the university should take in slightly more than half that, about $58 million, up from $56 million last year.
The level is about the same
McDavis said. Our vice president for research told me that we'll maybe be up 1 to 2 million at the end of the day.
McDavis said he had spent much of this year meeting with research groups such as the Edison Biotechnology Institute and the Innovation Center, setting the foundation for that money goal.
We need to get our foundation set this year he said. And I certainly plan to do more of that this year. What I've heard what we need the most is more space. We need more labs we need more research buildings so that our scientists will have places to do their work.
He said the university is working right now to identify resources to build a new research facility on West Green. Currently, he said, more than 450 undergraduate students participate in research at OU.
Also at the press conference, McDavis explained his reasons behind his decision to reopen the search for a new vice president for finance and administration -a position he has said is one of the university's most important, behind the president and the provost.
After considering all three finalists for that position
I made the decision to reopen the search
he said. I want to point out that we were favorably impressed with all three finalists
but we just felt a need to reopen the search in the hopes we could get even stronger candidates to apply for that very important position.
He said he hopes to have the position filled by January of next year. Larry Corrigan, who holds the interim position for OU, was one of three candidates for the position. He will continue on in that capacity until the second search is complete.
McDavis also said he hopes to have the positions of director of government relations -as now unfilled -and assistant to the president for diversity -currently Christine Taylor -filled in the next few weeks.
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Chuck Bowen
