Goal 2: Objective 2.2 | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Goal 2: Supporting Research and Innovation

Grow the impact of the college’s research scholarship at least proportionate to overall University research impact growth over the next five years.

Objective 2.2: Continue to invest strategically in college research centers to promote focused research growth while also investing strategically in capacity for broader research growth based in the academic units.

Action Item 2.2.1

Implement procedures to evaluate centers in terms of research productivity, collaborative research engagement across the college, and fulfilling strategic research priorities of the college.

Implementation Tasks

Task 1: Develop transparent processes and guidelines for sharing credit to promote partnership and collaboration among research centers and academic departments.
Task 2: Establish opportunities for more frequent, structured, and strategic communication among Department Heads and Center Directors.
Task 3: Develop transparent policies for Centers to generate self-sustaining revenue by fulfilling their mission to promote interdisciplinary research that spans across academic units.

Responsible Party: Office of the Associate Dean for Research; HHD Finance Office

Metrics: (1) Number of collaborative projects that involve faculty and graduate students from multiple HHD research centers and academic departments; (2) Number of faculty and departments that are actively involved in research center activities.

Start and End Dates: Spring 2021 – Spring 2022; ongoing

Action Item 2.2.2

Develop means of sustainably growing the cadre of the college’s non-tenure track research faculty.

Implementation Tasks

Task 1: Develop a plan to re-invest revenue generated through research to fund the recruitment and retention of talented NTT faculty.
Task 2: Explore the feasibility of joint appointments of NTT research faculty to Centers and academic departments. Joint appointments would provide security to research faculty and flexibility to departments for meeting teaching and service needs.

Responsible Party: Office of the Associate Dean for Research; HHD Finance Office

Metrics: (1) Number of NTT research faculty appointed in or affiliated with research centers; (2) Number of grant submissions from NTT research faculty.

Start and End Dates: Summer 2022 – Spring 2023; ongoing

Action Item 2.2.3

Evaluate feasibility and effectiveness of alternative strategies that create more time for tenure track faculty to engage in research.

Implementation Tasks

Task 1: Develop guidelines for HHD Centers to “buyout” TT faculty at the internal rate for targeted activities (e.g., spearheading initiatives, conducting a pilot study; supporting training programs).
Task 2: Conduct a time use survey of faculty to assess the percentage of effort spent on research, teaching, service, and administrative activities.
Task 3: Explore innovations to support reductions in teaching loads (e.g., curricular streamlining, team teaching and other options to accommodate reduced teaching loads; developing resources to support faculty in seeking faculty fellowship opportunities).

Responsible Party: Office of the Associate Dean for Research; Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education

Metrics: (1) Median number of credit hours taught per faculty not in administrative roles in relation to grant effort; (2) Percent of time spent on research, teaching, and service; (3) Number of graduate and undergraduate courses that satisfy requirements for more than one HHD academic department.

Start and End Dates: Fall 2021 – Fall 2022; ongoing

Key Performance Indicators

Increased engagement between academic departments and college research centers, based on number of grant proposals.