UC|21 Team Plans to Grow Research Excellence

The University of Cincinnati is among the top 50 research universities in the United States. How can we become better? That’s the focus of Implementation Team 2, developing ways to achieve the UC|21 goal “Grow Our Research Excellence.”

The path toward excellence, according the team, involves the creation of interdisciplinary centers, removing barriers to research success, and stronger partnerships with industry.

The team has proposed a plan to develop at least five new interdisciplinary research centers over the next five years to focus on emerging research and funding opportunities. 

“We envision a future university that encourages collaborative research and teaching endeavors that draw on the diversity of expertise of its faculty found throughout its many colleges, and provides a mechanism for creation of needed research centers and institutes,” said team co-leader Paul L. Bishop, associate dean for graduate studies and research, College of Engineering.

The proposal, according to the team, has the potential to generate a substantial increase in stature and research funding while attracting quality faculty and students at the graduate and post-doctoral levels. 

“The primary requirement for establishment of these centers and institutes is that they must be interdisciplinary.  They will normally involve industry, other educational entities and/or community organizations, for funding, oversight, operations,” said co-leader Peter Stambrook, professor and chair of cell biology, College of Medicine.

The team has also proposed actions to remove barriers to research excellence. For example, improved communication and cross-university collaboration in faculty research might be improved through a Web-based directory of faculty expertise, faculty development programs to build research success, rewards for entrepreneurial activities, and streamlining administrative procedures.

The team has also proposed ways to improve academic-industrial partnerships

“Targeted research can be just as outstanding in its quality as ‘pure’ research,” Bishop said.