FACULTY COUNCIL RESEARCH COMMITTEE REPORT
22 APRIL 2014
The faculty Council Research Committee last met on March 26th, 2014 and will meet again on Wednesday, April 30th, 2014. The Committee’s activities are being focused on the adequacy of facilities to support the University’s research mission and the risks associated the University’s use of animals for research. The issue of facilities and treatment of research animals is the result of the incident involving research animals that suffered from lack of care last fall.
The Committee meeting on March 26th was devoted to a discussion with Dr. Charlotte Owenby, from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, who is in charge of the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee. The discussions focused on the three reas where the University is at risk and the costs of failure to comply with standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture.
The risks can be classified into three areas
Protocols defined in planned research
Compliance with protocols identified in planned research
Failure to comply with established standards of care for research animals.
Failure to be in compliance in any of these areas can result in substantial monetary penalties and or loss in funding from Federal Agencies. These penalties can be extended to the whole University.
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer is currently reviewing our policies, procedures and support for efforts to manage these risks. They are looking for support from the faculty as reviewers of there findings and recommendations for actions.
The Committee’s next meeting, Wednesday, April 30th, an agenda for the meeting has not been distributed, but I suspect some time will be devoted to a meeting of the Associate Deans for Research which was held on April 16th, 2014.
DKL
DAVID K. LEWIS
1616 Fairfield Drive
Stillwater, OKLAHOMA 74074-2331
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
Phone: 405-377-4298
FAX: 405-744-3530
E-Mail: davidlewis@suddenlink.net