21 GRADUATE SCHOOL CENTERS

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2 INTRODUCTION GRADUATE SCHOOL Advancing Knowledge through Education and Research To foster excellence in research and graduate education. VISION STATEMENT Given its campus-wide responsibility for research and graduate education, the Graduate School is in a unique position to set university-wide standards and policies, serve a special advocacy and communication role, promote diversity initiatives, and otherwise augment the margin of excellence. We fulfill these roles by initiating and incubating new ideas, and facilitating research and graduate education through partnerships with schools/colleges and other campus units. INTRODUCTION The cornerstone of graduate education is research. The long-standing and synergistic relationship between the research enterprise on campus and graduate education is the philosophical foundation of the Graduate School and one of its greatest strengths. A world-class research endeavor can only be sustained with a strong connection to graduate education, and without a rigorous and robust research enterprise, the quality of graduate education greatly suffers. We seek to nurture outstanding scholarship across all parts of the intellectual landscape, as reflected by the wide variety of grant awards and honors that have been garnered by our faculty. In 2009, for the first time, annual research expenditures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison surpassed the $1 billion milestone. The National Science Foundation (NSF) showed UW-Madison fiscal year 2010 research expenditures in science and engineering at $940 million. UW-Madison research expenditures outside of engineering and science including the areas of business, education, arts and humanities totaled $61 million for fiscal Among 711 universities surveyed, UW-Madison ranks third in science and engineering expenditures, the same ranking as 2008, behind Johns Hopkins and the combined campuses of the University of Michigan System. In the non-sciences area, UW-Madison ranks fifth. Furthermore, a census of awards recognizing research in the humanities reveals that the average faculty member receives two prestigious national or disciplinespecific awards in any six-year cycle. Much of this research has been initiated or carried out with seed funding provided by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the University s technology transfer partner. We are deeply committed to graduate education. Over 140 majors offer master s degrees and over 100 majors offer doctoral degrees. We have over 9,000 graduate students spread across more than 150 graduate programs. The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked 10th among public institutions in rankings released in September 2011 in U.S. News & World Report s 2012 edition of America s Best Colleges. According to the National Research Council's survey released in 2010, UW-Madison had 40 programs ranked in the top ten in their field. UW-Madison ranked in the top ten nationally in the number of doctoral degrees conferred in recent years. Finally, the Graduate School provides an administrative home for a number of multidisciplinary research centers and institutes. These centers involve faculty, staff, and students from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities. Together they generate, on an annual basis, more than $160 million in extramural research awards. These centers and institutes also play an important role in terms of graduate education and outreach. A snapshot of the centers can be found starting on page 17. 1

3 INTRODUCTION UW-Madison is ranked third behind Johns Hopkins and Michigan, with respect to total research and development expenditures at public universities. The most recent data are for fiscal year 2010 and show UW-Madison at $1,029 million in total research expenditures. FY2010 TOTAL R&D EXPENDITURES AT TOP TEN INSTITUTIONS Graduate education at UW-Madison is second to none. The campus offers 150 master s degrees making it one of the largest sites for graduate training among universities worldwide. Quantity does not trump quality; according to the recent NRC study, UW-Madison fields more highly rated doctoral programs than almost any other university in the United States. EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH SUPPORT For , the federal research awards were $590.1 million and the non-federal research awards were $258.8 million. If ARRA funds were excluded, there has been a steady increase in federal funding over the last four years. 2

4 GRADUATE SCHOOL HISTORY BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL The Graduate School originated in 1895 when a committee was formed to consider its establishment. Prior to 1895, graduate training was handled by several departments on campus, but it was not coordinated. In January 1904, the committee recommended that a graduate school be established and administered by a standing faculty committee. The regents immediately approved the recommendation and Professor G. C. Comstock, the Director of the Washburn Observatory, was appointed director of the fledgling Graduate School. The quarter century after World War II brought an influx of external funds to the university, primarily grants from foundations and the federal government. Federal funds became a major source of graduate fellowships and traineeships and helped to fuel the construction boom on campus. The GI Bill of Rights greatly expanded opportunities for graduate students, with enrollment growing to 3,600 in 1950 from 676 in Foundation and federal grants in the 1950s also helped fuel the growing internationalization of the University s activities. Grants from the Ford Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development provided funding for graduate training programs in economics, engineering, teaching, public administration and land reform in developing countries around the world. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the university saw a growing commitment to interdisciplinary graduate education. In 1967, an ad hoc faculty committee established an experimental Institute for Environmental Studies as a Graduate School research program. The experiment became permanent in the 1970s, and today the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies provides interdisciplinary training to hundreds of graduate students. Opportunities for interdisciplinary training have grown dramatically over the past 40 years through the creation of over 112 research centers on campus with 19 of these administered by the Graduate School. As UW-Madison s academic reputation as a major research university grew in the last half of the 20th century, graduate student enrollment rose dramatically. Enrollment in was 2,906. In enrollment skyrocketed to 10,372 and in fall 2010 it was 9,358. Graduate programs continue to attract large numbers of international students to the UW campus. In , the number was 2,320. In fall 2011, the number held steady at 2,276. GRADUATE ENROLLMENT AND DEGREES CONFERRED FALL 1991 SUMMER 2011 During , 724 doctoral degrees were conferred, and 2,002 master s degrees were conferred. UW-Madison is sixth among U.S. universities for number of doctoral degrees awarded, and third for science and engineering doctorates awarded behind the University of California, Berkley and University of Michigan. 3

5 GRADUATE SCHOOL HISTORY THE RESEARCH COMPETITION Perhaps nothing captures the goals and principles of the Graduate School better than the fall research competition. The University Research Committee was created in 1917, initially with the mission to raise funds for and to coordinate national defense research during the height of World War I. But the group quickly morphed into one dedicated to providing research resources to the faculty. When the state legislature provided an appropriation of $23,000 for research for the first time in 1919, the Research Committee sent out an invitation to faculty to apply for funds. The committee, made up of five to six faculty with the Graduate School Dean serving as the chair, began meeting annually to select proposals for funding. When the Wisconsin Alumni Foundation was created in 1925, some of its funds became part of the Research Committee s portfolio. While today s Research Committee is a much more complex body than its early 20th-century predecessors, its focus on employing faculty decision-making to put more resources into the hands of the faculty remains an enduring trait of the fall competition. Today there are four research committees, representing the four divisions of the University: Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Studies, and the Arts and Humanities. Each committee consists of seven to 10 faculty members appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. In fall 2011, these committees reviewed over 500 single- and multi-investigator proposals and the committees committed more than $11 million to more than 400 faculty members on the UW-Madison campus. Building on its 100-year history, the Graduate School s commitment to excellence in research and graduate education has never been stronger. In this strategic plan, we outline our goals and initiatives for the next five years to ensure that the Graduate School remains a catalyst for discovery and innovation in research and education throughout the state, the nation and the world. PERCENTAGE OF FULL-TIME STUDENTS WITH FUNDING In the fall of 2011, 9,346 graduate students were enrolled, of which 2,276 (24%) were international students, drawn from nearly 100 different countries. Applications have steadily risen over the last six years. Direct support to graduate students provided through the Graduate School for assistantships and fellowships exceeded $17 M in Campus-wide, support for graduate students comes in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and project assistantships. 4

6 STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS The Graduate School initiated a strategic planning process in fall The process involved identifying four themes for further exploration by subcommittees made up of staff from each unit in the Graduate School. Theme 1: Stewardship of Resources Theme 2: Holistic Approaches to Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Training Theme 3: Information Technology Theme 4: Interdisciplinarity In addition to the themes above, the following goals are integrated into the practices of the Graduate School: Enhancing diversity, Improving the flow of information both within the Graduate School and between the Graduate School, its centers and other schools/colleges, Increasing the visibility of the Graduate School on campus. An associate dean chaired or co-chaired each of the four subcommittees whose make-up included three to seven additional members, largely self-selected, but also chosen to provide a balanced make-up reflecting the entire Graduate School mission. The four subcommittees met and drafted individual statements that defined or further articulated aspects of the thematic issues, identified additional goals, aims or principles, and, in response, made recommendations for future directions. STRATEGIC PLAN THEMES THEME 1: STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES To be good stewards of resources, the Graduate School strives for transparency when communicating and setting priorities, when balancing proactive and reactive responses, and when revitalizing partnerships both on and off campus. The following categories of resources will each require different stewardship processes: Resources Assigned to the Graduate School: These resources require broad campus input to determine how best to use them. The campus strategic plan, existing committees (i.e., Graduate School Academic Planning Council (APC), new campus WARF Advisory Committee and other faculty committees such as the Research Committees and Fellowships Committees), and focus groups, when appropriate, are used to provide this broader campus input. Internal Graduate School Resources: The demand for internal Graduate School resources far exceeds their availability. Allocation of these internal resources is guided by the following principles: consideration of Campus and Graduate School strategic plans, the use of customer-based decision making, and cost benefit analysis. Campus Research Policy and Compliance Resources: The Graduate School continues to be responsible for Campus Research Policy and Compliance Resources. Greater funding for a compliance office is necessary. We will work to achieve closer alignments between externallymandated responsibilities and the resources needed to achieve compliance. THEME 2: HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO GRADUATE STUDENT AND POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING The graduate experience encompasses activities occurring on campus and off and increasingly in a world that is diverse, global and interconnected. These activities include, but are not limited to, recruitment, admission, funding, scholarly pursuits, career preparation, professional development and degree attainment. The Graduate School works with a variety of other campus units to build an inclusive, integrated and well-rounded graduate experience for masters, Ph.D., and professional degree students, as well as postdoctoral researchers and scholars. The Graduate School has identified a number of principles related to a holistic approach that will better support students to take ownership of their graduate experience, encourage individual graduate programs to innovate, adapt and evolve, and utilize data and assessment outcomes to inform decisions and provide exemplars of practices that enable all graduate students to achieve their potential. 5

7 STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS The following goals and future actions will support these principles: We will strengthen our partnerships with graduate program coordinators through the creation of robust, bi-directional relationships facilitated by a new committee formed from graduate program coordinators and Graduate School staff members. The ongoing Graduate School website redesign provides the opportunity to develop content relevant to graduate students at various stages in their education and research/scholarship experience and to assist them in self-assessment and the creation of individual development plans. We will work in concert with other campus units, faculty, and staff to provide guidance and resources that will support postdoctoral researchers and scholars in their professional development. THEME 3: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Critical to the Graduate School s dual mission of fostering excellence in research and graduate education is a state of the art information technology unit, reflecting industry and campus best practices, fully compliant with federal, state, and campus policies. The Graduate School is uniquely positioned to partner and collaborate to facilitate the use of information technology services that can serve to maximize strategic research-related activity on campus and enrich the graduate student experience. The Graduate School identified three goals and future actions which support both graduate education and research through information technologies in order to respond to changes in the research regulatory process and the evolving needs of Graduate School Centers: We will partner with DoIT on the further development and implementation of a Research Portal to support research and scholarship by providing a centralized location for information and tools needed by faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, graduate student, and administrators for all phases of the research process. We will develop an advanced IT environment that maximizes security, reliability, and maintainability. To accomplish this we will proactively manage IT resources to be responsive to internal and external stakeholders. We will develop a management process that seeks ongoing input from all Graduate School units to set IT priorities. We will promote the use, evaluation and implementation of new and innovative technologies to enhance the graduate student experience and to support research scholarship across the campus and within affiliated research centers and institutions. This will include: upgrading the online graduate student application process, expanding the use of imaging and digital forms, and partnering with research compliance offices across campus to maximize the effectiveness of our campus compliance tools. THEME 4: INTERDISCIPLINARITY Overall, the Graduate School promotes innovative interdisciplinarity collaboration in research and graduate education. Any new initiative will require consideration of how to set priorities for resource allocation, how to balance the shared research and education missions and how to remain flexible in order to accommodate future changes. The Graduate School has identified these objectives and suggested initiatives related to interdisciplinarity: We will foster investigator-driven approaches to interdisciplinarity by incorporating this emphasis into a variety of activities, such as Research Committee grants/awards and Graduate School-sponsored forums and activities. We will support interdisciplinary research activities by incorporating this emphasis into existing support mechanisms such as grant match opportunities and allocation of other resources. The Graduate School will encourage interdisciplinary activities within the graduate education enterprise through enhanced support of student-centered activities proposed by graduate programs, including joint and special committee degrees, new graduate and capstone certificates, and additional professional development opportunities. 6

8 GRADUATE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 7 VICE CHANCELLOR FOR RESEARCH AND DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL The Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School (VCR/DGS) serves as the chief research officer and the principal advisor to the Chancellor and the Provost on research and graduate education, respectively. The VCR/DGS provides oversight for the institution s broad research enterprise and the instructional environment for over 9,000 graduate students in 150 programs at the master s level and 108 programs at the doctoral level. The VCR/DGS oversees a university-wide array of faculty and staff research programs with total annual expenditures of more than $1 billion, administers the Graduate School s budget and personnel resources, and promotes graduate education and research by enhancing funding support from internal and external agencies including the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The position is responsible for an array of multidisciplinary research centers and institutes, research policy and compliance which includes conflict of interest, human subjects, animal welfare and responsible conduct of research and negotiation of industry contracts. The VCR/DGS is also responsible for graduate student academic services programs including admissions, diversity programs, fellowships and funding, and degree certification. ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLORS FOR RESEARCH POLICY The Associate Vice Chancellors for Research Policy oversee the Graduate School Office of Research Policy and are responsible for a breadth of research-related activities including: development of research policy, oversight of conflict of interest, export controls, aspects of industrial partnerships and intellectual property, research integrity, the Responsible Conduct of Research Program, the Innovative and Economic Development Research (IEDR) Program, the Principal Investigator Committee, research involving animals, human subjects, stem cells, and select agents including aspects of biosafety, biosecurity and dual use. The Associate Vice Chancellors further ensure that research programs comply with applicable principles, regulations and federal and state laws. In this capacity, an Associate Vice Chancellor serves the federally-mandated roles of Institutional Official (IO) for the Human Subjects Protection Program, IO for the Animal Program, the Responsible Official (RO) for Select Agent research, and the Research Integrity Official (RIO). The Office of Research Policy (ORP) is committed to promoting responsible conduct of research and advancing a climate of ethical behavior and research integrity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The ORP accomplishes this through policy development, education and outreach, quality assurance activities, and administration of key research compliance programs. The Associate Vice Chancellors work closely with the Dean of the Graduate School in setting and executing institutional priorities, and have responsibility for the development and implementation of strategic initiatives that seek to maintain and enhance research excellence. The Associate Vice Chancellors also have input into national research policy via organizations such as the Association of American Universities (AAU), the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), the University Industry Demonstration Project (UIDP) sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR GRADUATE EDUCATION The Associate Dean for Graduate Education reports to the Dean of the Graduate School, oversees the administration of all aspects of the graduate student experience from recruitment through graduation, and serves on the leadership team with other Associate Deans and Associate Vice Chancellors for Research of the Graduate School. The Associate Dean and graduate education staff work in concert with other campus units, graduate programs, staff, and faculty to foster an inclusive, integrated experience for graduate students, as well as professionaldegree students enrolled in UW-Madison graduate programs and postdoctoral researchers/scholars. In addition, this position oversees data analysis, alumni and community outreach, and workshops on graduate education and professional

9 GRADUATE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP development. The Associate Dean helps develop policies for the recruitment, retention, and graduation of a diverse graduate student body. The Associate Dean provides institutional leadership for graduate education across campus, develops standards and guidelines for student services delivery, identifies future trends in higher education, and evaluates the potential effects of those trends on the delivery of student services. Employing a holistic approach to scholars/ researchers in training, the Associate Dean and graduate education staff engage with a wide range of stakeholders to build an integrated and well-rounded graduate experience for students through the various stages of their degree progress, both on and off campus, while utilizing data and assessment outcomes to inform Graduate School decisions and provide exemplars of practice. The Associate Dean represents the Dean on all graduate education issues; represents the Graduate School and the Dean via participation in campus, state, and nationwide networking organizations; and communicates administrative changes in graduate education policies to the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee. Practices inform and are informed by the national and international conversation on graduate education and the postdoctoral experience, but we bring the UW- Madison imprint to the way the Graduate School approaches graduate education. ACADEMIC ASSOCIATE DEANS FOR THE DIVISIONS OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, PHYSICAL SCIENCES, AND SOCIAL STUDIES The Academic Associate Deans report to the Vice Chancellor for Research/Dean of the Graduate School and represent the four divisions of the university (Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Studies) on the leadership team with other Associate Deans and Associate Vice Chancellors for Research of the Graduate School. The Academic Associate Deans provide institutional leadership for research and graduate education across campus and have responsibility for the development and implementation of strategic initiatives that seek to maintain and enhance excellence in these areas. They represent the Dean on all campus research issues related to their respective divisions as well as representing the Graduate School and the Dean in state and nationwide networking organizations. In partnership with the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, the Academic Associate Deans participate fully on the formulation and oversight of policies governing Graduate Education and the allocation of resources supporting graduate education. These functions are achieved in part by participating as full voting members on the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee and the Graduate Research Scholars Governance Committee; as the Chair of the divisional Graduate Fellowships Committees, coordinating all program reviews, handling special graduate student requests (e.g., student appeals, course overloads, joint degrees, grievances); and assisting in the monitoring of educational outcomes. With respect to research, the Academic Associate Deans oversee the administration of all aspects of research coordination for their respective division regarding Research Committee grants, faculty start-up and retention packages, and other strategic and competitive research expenditures. The Academic Associate Deans are responsible for chairing the divisional Research Committees, serving on the Associate Deans for Research Committee, and functioning as a liaison to Graduate School research centers. In addition, the Academic Associate Deans work with the Graduate School staff to develop mechanisms for identifying emerging national and international research and graduate education funding opportunities, and, where appropriate, for tracking faculty roles on advisory boards and other research agenda-setting activities and new opportunities for faculty to serve on national and international research, educational, and policy-making bodies. The Academic Associate Deans strive to maintain the creative and flexible organization of the Graduate School, with particular emphasis on retaining and strengthening a synergistic relationship between research and graduate education; retaining divisional oversight, sensitivity, and responsiveness in research and fellowships processes; and maintaining strong communications ties between the Associate Deans and the Dean of the Graduate School. 8

10 GRADUATE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL RESEARCH AWARDS BY AGENCY $590.1 MILLION The Associate Dean for Administration manages financial support for all Graduate School administrative offices and serves as the primary financial officer for the WARF gift to campus, ensuring receipts are available to cover WARF expenditures. In addition, the Associate Dean serves as the CFO for the Graduate School Centers. The Associate Dean also provides direct oversight for four major units within Graduate School Administration. The Accounting unit provides administrative accounting and financial services to assist and educate Graduate School Center staff to maintain fiscal accountability and coordinates distribution and management of WARF funds to campus. The Research Services unit serves a large number of campus-wide functions including the coordination of institutional and limited grant nominations, coordination of institutional technology transfer grant programs, serving as a resource for faculty and other researchers for intellectual property policy and ownership issues, research policy issues, and any needed central coordination of grant proposals. In addition, this office provides oversight for sponsored project administration responsibilities of the centers. The Human Resources unit provides guidance, mentoring and oversight to Graduate School administrative offices and research centers within the Graduate School. This unit develops the workplace through recruitment, classification, compensation, payroll and benefits, employment relations, training and 101 budget management. The Information Technology unit provides technology solutions, infrastructure, and support that enable each Graduate School unit to accomplish technology-related projects both in the long-term and short-term DISTRIBUTION OF RESEARCH AWARDS ACROSS SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES The Graduate School s annual Research Committee fall Competition supported 369 research projects totaling $11,283,969 with 40 of these proposals being awarded in the multidisciplinary category. The Graduate School is home to 19 centers and institutes which generate more than $150 million in extramural research funds annually. 9

11 GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS 10 OFFICE OF ADS AND ACADEMIC SERVICES The Office of Admissions and Academic Services serves as a campus resource to promote and facilitate excellence in graduate education for prospective and current graduate students, staff and faculty. VISION Admissions and Academic Services is the academic dean s office for graduate students and is a point of contact throughout their graduate careers, from recruitment through graduation. We work with students, faculty, and graduate programs to recruit and admit students, ensure their satisfactory progress, advise them during their training, manage their portfolio, and grant degrees. We also advise and then approve specially tailored courses of research where the student's interests are highly interdisciplinary or not well served by matriculation in a single degree program. RECENT Moved ~10,000 graduate student records to digital imaging system increasing efficiency. Began routing digital documents to Registrar. Began offering an Electronic Thesis Deposit (ETD) service for doctoral students. Began online chat sessions with graduate programs to enhance recruiting. Trained our programs on new tools to expedite admissions decisions.

12 GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Prepare procedures and systems to administer professional degree programs and for flexibility needed for Educational Innovation. Collaborate with campus partners to create clearer guidelines for online degree programs and for international collaboration in graduate degree programs. Foster and support a graduate advising committee among programs. Expand digital workflow to routing campus documents to and from departments and campus offices. Complete ewarrants project and the transition of paper warrants to electronic routing. Buy or build a single, comprehensive admissions suite with direct interactivity with ISIS. OFFICE OF ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT AND FUNDING The Office of Academic Assessment and Funding plays a critical role in the perpetuation of high quality graduate programs, and in turn, in the successful research enterprise on campus. VISION Graduate education is undergoing a period of change. The ability to respond to change is paramount. The office coordinates Graduate Faculty Executive Committee (GFEC) agendas, develops tools for program review and development, coordinates processes for the announcement, use, and disbursement of funding resources, analyzes the utility of existing and new academic structures and resources, increases access to and improves the integrity of graduate data, and develops useful data reports. RECENT Creation of the Graduate Research Scholars (GRS) Governance Committee. Produced greater alignment of the Advanced Opportunity Fellowship eligibility definition with the campus definition. Coordinated the policy change around the doctoral minor policy change and upheld the importance of breadth within the program review guidelines. The GFEC completed ten program reviews and twelve academic program proposals. Led discussion with campus colleagues around research/scholarly and professional/practice degrees to determine how well the program review guidelines serve both of these degree arenas. Renewed focus around data collection and assessment and created an internal Graduate School Data CORE group to tackle these issues. Overhauled the graduate program statistical profiles. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Contribute to the creation of enhanced graduate-related queries in the Query Library. Continue data access and data integrity efforts as it relates to data collection, data management, and web/print communications related to graduate programs. Serve as a campus resource expert for academic planning and policy initiatives related to but not limited to the Educational Innovation campaign. Develop and coordinate a process to systematically address program changes with Graduate School and campus colleagues as a result of GFEC action. Begin implementation and training of the new internal ImageNow graduate program files. 11 OFFICE OF ENGAGEMENT FOR INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY The Office of Engagement for Inclusion and Diversity plays a central role in creating an inclusive and multicultural educational landscape through the retention and recruitment of targeted minority and low-income/first generation college students who have been traditionally under-represented in graduate education.

13 GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS VISION A shared campus-wide commitment to an inclusive climate leading to increased enrollment and graduation of domestic minority and/or economically disadvantaged students. RECENT An increased number of targeted students (African American, Native American, Hispanic American and Southeast Asian American) enrolled in UW-Madison graduate programs between fall 2008 and fall The UW-Madison Bouchet Graduate Honor Society chapter was formed. The second cohort of doctoral candidates was inducted at its first annual conference in Multicultural Graduate Network and Graduate Student Collaborative recognized 27 graduate student peer mentors. 100% graduating McNair Scholars from the class of 2011 admitted into U.S. graduate programs with funding. 145 undergraduate students from throughout the U.S. attended the 2011 summer research opportunity programs at UW- Madison. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES The UW-Madison graduate student body has long been diverse in many ways. For example, we are one of the destination campuses for international graduate students. But achieving a high degree of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity has been a more challenging goal. We continue to seek ways to make this campus both inviting to diverse applicants and a rich, comfortable community for students once they arrive. The Office of Graduate Student Diversity Resources aligns with the Graduate School with UW-Madison and national principles of Inclusive Excellence. The following are the Office s strategic priorities for the next three to five years: Build student, faculty, and staff capacity to support and mentor students through their graduate school experience. Track students from initial contact through their graduate career in an effort to increase enrollment and successful graduation. Deepen and expand collaborative relationships with internal and external partners. OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT The Office of Professional Development and Engagement coordinates, develops, and promotes learning opportunities to foster the academic, professional, and life skills of the graduate education community. VISION To promote a culture within the graduate education community that values professional development, the integration of research and graduate education, and the tenets of the Wisconsin Idea. RECENT Graduate Student Professional Development Restructured process for planning and implementing professional development events for graduate students, which has strengthened bonds with campus partners. Increased programming through OPD&E and campus partners to ensure a breadth of professional development opportunities for graduate students. Improved process for Vilas Travel Grant Competition to be more responsive to students need for funding throughout the academic year. Added program specialist to help expand, implement, and plan professional development and program opportunities for graduate students. Partnered with other units to incubate new programs, e.g., (a) with Research Policy to develop a program titled, Integrating Research Ethics and Scholarship (IRES) that offers educational opportunities to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers that reflect best practices in ethics education and scholarly integrity, and (b) with the Writing Center to develop a week-long writing bootcamp for students writing their dissertation. 12

14 GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS Communications and Engagement The office played a significant leadership role in the pre-production and design phase of the web site redesign scheduled to launch in early fall Developed and implemented social media communications strategy. Created newsletter for program graduate coordinators to better disseminate policies and procedures, and for general information sharing. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Engaging campus stakeholders in addressing needs of research-doctorate students for career counseling and advising in response to changing job markets. Contributing to strategies to support completion of doctoral degrees. Enhancing and facilitating postdoctoral professional development opportunities. Write and edit web site content to migrate into campus content management system. OFFICE OF RESEARCH POLICY The Office of Research Policy (ORP) coordinates, develops, and oversees the implementation of research policy, ethics and compliance for the campus. VISION The Office of Research Policy is committed to promoting responsible conduct of research and advancing a climate of ethical behavior and research integrity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ORP accomplishes this through policy development, education and outreach, quality assurance activities, and administration of key research compliance programs. RECENT Preparation of AAHRPP re-accreditation application and site visit: 1) preparation of a written application addressing each of the AAHRPP accreditation standards; and 2) a site visit by a team of professionals assembled by AAHRPP to inspect program operations. Effective response to a publication issue related to clinical trials. In response to concerns about Principal Investigator (PI) compliance with International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines on the registration of clinical trials, the cross-campus ClinicalTrials.gov Committee has taken a more aggressive approach to compliance with requirements regarding the registration of clinical trials. Development of routine review procedure for data safety. Impact assessment of new conflict of interest regulations. Implementation of the Integrating Research Ethics and Scholarship (IRES) program and selection of the first cohort of IRES Fellows. Development of data stewardship, access and retention, and tangible research property policies. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Revise Conflict of Interest Program procedures in response to new federal COI regulations. Respond to the Human Research Protection Program re-accreditation site visit report. Expand the number of face-to-face training opportunities for participants of the Integrating Research Ethics and Scholarship (IRES) program. Conduct campus-wide Quality Assurance needs assessment for research quality monitoring. Promote the Office of Research Policy as a one-stop shop for PIs. The Graduate School Web pages are currently under revision. Convert the Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee s online application tool from Webkit to ARROW. 13

15 GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS OFFICE OF INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS The Office of Industrial Partnerships (OIP) helps researchers work with private industry to foster industry-sponsored research and further technology transfer and research commercialization in support of the institutional mission. VISION Faculty relationships with industry comprise an important part of research, education and outreach at the University. Many of these mutually beneficial relationships help take our research into the marketplace. OIP helps develop University-Industry partnerships by facilitating efficient and effective sponsored agreement processes between faculty and the private sector. RECENT Established Advisory Board consisting of faculty, industry representative, and WARF established, with content experts from Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP), College of Engineering (COE), College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), and Administrative Legal Services. Working group developing common language for industry agreements consisting of representatives of COE, CALS, SMPH, RSP, Administrative Legal Services, and WARF. Space renovated in 202 Bascom with five staff cubicles. Business workflow developed with RSP and with COE, CALS, and SMPH using WISPER. Industry contacting moved from RSP to OIP. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Develop metrics for the office. Establish consistent policies and templates to clarify to campus and industry partners what language is allowable or unallowable in research agreements. Continue work on website and other informational tools to effectively communicate with sponsors and faculty. OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES In collaboration with UW-Madison leadership, Graduate School Human Resources (GSHR) provides guidance, mentoring and oversight to administration, graduate education and 16 centers within the Graduate School. GSHR develops the workplace through human resources activities including recruitment, classification, compensation, payroll and benefits, employment relations, training and budget coordination. VISION To create a welcoming and diverse environment that attracts, retains and supports the Graduate School and its employees. A fundamental principle we hold is that we are honest and ethical and treat all situations encountered in human resources with integrity. We treat others fairly and with respect and aim to provide quality customer service to all of our customers whether they are internal or external. RECENT Adopted new HR and payroll system in April Implemented training programs to ensure compliance in all Graduate School centers. Processed 357 vacancies, 120 rate and title change adjustments for unclassified staff and 15 reclassifications for classified staff. Assisted 16 Graduate School centers with a variety of HR and payroll functions, serving over 2,700 appointments. In addition, the office was involved in numerous investigations, disciplinary actions, appeals and grievances, and staffing (e.g., layoff and non-renewal). A campus leader in accurately tracking and monitoring furlough usage by employees as required by the university by way of the State of Wisconsin government during the fiscal years 2009, 2010 and HR staff members participated in many campus-wide committees and meetings related to human resources. 14

16 Collaborated with staff from WARF and MIR to create an administrative structure for the new Graduate School Center, the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (WID). FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Implement Exit Interview Survey for all terminating Graduate School employees. Complete pages for new Graduate School website. Electronically store HR documents through ImageNow software. Partner with GS Offices, specifically GS Information Technology, on HR work priorities. 15 RESEARCH SERVICES The Graduate School Office of Research Services provides oversight of research administration for Graduate School Centers and support of campus-wide research functions requiring central coordination. VISION We help ensure effective and efficient central coordination of various functions for campus, including: institutional and limited grant nominations, coordination of institutional technology transfer grant programs and the UW-Madison/UW- Milwaukee Intercampus Grants program, equity review of University invention disclosures, serving as a resource for faculty and other researchers for IP policy and ownership issues, research policy issues, and any central coordination of grant proposals. The office also provides oversight to pre- and post-award grants and contracts administration for all Graduate School Centers to ensure compliance with applicable laws, policies and guidance. RECENT In collaboration with the Academic Associate Deans, developed and implemented process to facilitate campus responses to large, interdisciplinary grant opportunities. Established processes to coordinate the Intercampus Grants Program with the Provost s Office and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, from posting of the RFA, advertising the program, reviewing applications, making awards and managing a reporting process. Developed and implemented new processes regarding IP assignment issues raised by Supreme Court decision in Stanford v. Roche Supreme Court case. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Complete campus outreach regarding IP assignment issues raised by Supreme Court decision in Stanford v. Roche. Participate in the establishment and reorganization of research-related functions in the Graduate School (OIC, D2P, etc.). Develop plans for protecting embryonic stem cell research as anticipated state and federal policies are expected to introduce limitations; this may include expanded data gathering and tracking, development of firewall guidelines, etc. Continue development of relationship/policies related to Morgridge Institute for Research, including issues related to shared staff, equipment, subcontracts, and the relationship between MIR and WID. Ensure effective financial management of grants in changing landscape, due to HRS implementation, HR Redesign, growing audit requirements, etc. Participate in campus plans for development of copyright resources, with special attention to development of equity review process for copyright. OFFICE OF ACCOUNTING Our mission will be to provide exceptional administrative accounting and financial services to assist and educate Graduate School Center staff, faculty, and other stakeholders in maintaining accurate and thorough fiscal accountability adapting as needed to changing environments.

17 GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS VISION Our vision is to provide accurate and timely financial information and education services as well as practical fiscal guidance to our end-users; Graduate School awarded and/or administered funding recipients, faculty, staff, and campuswide accounting and business services. RECENT The Kellett, Romnes, and WARF Named Professorship nomination and award processes were re-written to accommodate a completely digital workflow, eliminating unnecessary printing. Expanded our professional consulting to include higher-level management services to many of our Centers and Programs over the past year to assist them with business management decisions, operational budget preparation, and facilitate intra-center expertise collaboration. Decreased staffing and maintained services by opting not to replace one FTE and focused on updating and streamlining outdated workflows to improve efficiency. We completed the administrative planning phase of the Fall Competition award process overhaul and have begun implementation of the process update. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES Rewrite the Fall Competition application and review process. Our current timeline is to have the new system and processes in place and ready for live production in August of Continue to build collaborative, educational, relationships with our Centers to foster sharing of smart efficiencies and offer more financial management customer service. Begin the administrative planning phase of digitizing archived Graduate School award records to allow more complete, comprehensive, and easier to access data for our users. The archival scanning will also allow us to plan for our ongoing efforts in front-end digitization. Begin the preliminary investigation into creating a single, user-friendly, Content Management System for all Graduate School accounting programs and services. Complete staff transition (retirements) planning to focus on a more broad-based team approach to backup duties, rather than one-to-one, to continue to keep staffing overhead at a minimum while not reducing services. OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Graduate School Office of Information Technology (Grad IT) plays a supporting role to the various units within the Graduate School. Grad IT provides technology solutions, infrastructure, and support that enable each unit to accomplish technology-related long-term and short-term goals in support of the Graduate School s overall mission. VISION Our vision is to enable other Graduate School units to achieve their strategic goals more effectively and efficiently, promote widespread understanding of IT priorities and allocation of staff to projects, provide excellent customer service, and share expertise with others to support the mission of the Graduate School. RECENT Worked with Graduate School leadership to prioritize IT projects. The partnership with the UW-Madison Biotechnology Center ensures a long-term, professional approach to system administration that reduces risk and increases redundancy. Adoption of campus commodity services, to maximize the team s long-term ability to focus on value-added services in direct support of the Graduate School s mission. Reducing risk by eliminating unnecessary, sensitive data; adopting modern infrastructure software; and adopting campus best practices with respect to security. FUTURE PLANS AND PRIORITIES 16

18 GRADUATE SCHOOL CENTERS Increase visibility of Grad IT priorities, and promote buy-in among our customers; devote over 50% of our software development effort to long-term strategic IT initiatives, and increase focus on projects with a high return on investment. Increase security and eliminate unnecessary use of sensitive data. Use team approach to improve shared knowledge to reduce risks and costs associated with an individual approach. Position team to provide high-quality, high-impact consulting to strategic partners outside of the Graduate School. GRADUATE SCHOOL CENTERS Arboretum... Page 17 Aquatic Science Center (AQS)... Page 18 Sea Grant Institute Water Resources Institute Biotechnology Center... Page 19 Biotron... Page 20 Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC)... Page 20 Institute for Molecular Virology... Page 21 Institute on Aging (IOA)... Page 21 Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology (LCMB)... Page 22 Physical Sciences Laboratory... Page 23 Primate Research Center... Page 23 Research Animal Resource Center (RARC)... Page 24 Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC)... Page 25 Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC)... Page 25 University of Wisconsin Press... Page 26 Waisman Center... Page 26 Wisconsin Institute for Discovery... Page 27 Wisconsin Stem Cell Research Program... Page 28 ARBORETUM To conserve and restore Arboretum lands, advance restoration ecology, and foster the land ethic. Considerable effort over the past year has been invested in design and launch of an interactive map interface that will allow Arboretum visitors to have access to research, land care, and public engagement information about the Arboretum. We are very proud that recent submission of the Arboretum Interactive Map to the 39th CaGIS Annual Map Design Competition has received the Best of Category Award for Interactive/Digital Maps. The letter of award noted that The judges were impressed by the technical and design skills used to produce your map. Viewers can access the Interactive Map at: and can contact Mark Wegener (mwegener@wisc.edu) for further information. Over the past several years, the Arboretum has collaborated with city, state, and Federal agencies to design a comprehensive storm water management plan for the Arboretum property that can protect this unique natural resource from the deleterious effects of storm water produced by the developed urban setting that surrounds it. Part of this management plan has involved extensive revisions to storm water control ponds that border the Arboretum area. We are pleased to note that the Manitou Way detention pond design, located in an area of Arboretum lands adjacent to the Nakoma neighborhood, is being recognized by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Public Works Association as the 2012 Project 17

19 GRADUATE SCHOOL CENTERS of the Year. STRAND Association will be receiving the award in July. The nomination will also be forwarded to the APWA national competition. This past year, the Arboretum created its first Board of Visitors organization, designed to aid in identifying new resources for support of our unique resource. We intend that this group of local business and entrepreneurial leaders will help to shape our plan for identifying previously unavailable resources that can support the research, teaching, and public engagement activities that the Arboretum provides for university and local stakeholders. AQUATIC SCIENCE CENTER To maximize the potential benefits of the National Sea Grant College Program and federal Water Resources Research Institutes program for the university, state, region, nation and foreign nations through well-managed and highly competitive University of Wisconsin programs of research, outreach and education excellence. In addition to federal and state program funding totaling nearly $5.7 million annually for the Sea Grant Institute (SGI) and Water Resources Institute (WRI), center staff successfully competed for $492,000 in other funding. UW System and Wisconsin private university faculty also received awards totaling nearly $709,000 in national competitions for additional SGI and WRI federal funding. Throughout its program history, more than 600 post baccalaureate students have received support through the center. The center annually awards a Carl J. Weston Memorial Scholarship to a UW-Madison undergraduate student involved in Great Lakes research. The center is currently supporting a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center Coastal Fellow. State students are also eligible for, and have secured, other fellowships such as the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and the Great Lakes Commission - Sea Grant Fellowship. Wisconsin s Water Library conducts story hours to build marine-science literacy among students in the Allied Drive area of Madison, Wisconsin, a primarily a low-income and traditionally underrepresented population neighborhood, and among Head Start Program participants of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Baraboo, Wisconsin. In late 2011, the library completed a project it spearheaded with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center to digitize nearly 200 summary and final reports on water research conducted jointly between WRI and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The reports, previously, were only available in paper format. Now, they can be shared electronically worldwide. SEA GRANT INSTITUTE Mission To establish the University of Wisconsin as a leading provider of objective, science-based information regarding coastal and Great Lakes issues of importance to Wisconsin and the United States. Accomplishments The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year adopted a model for determining the behavior of toxic heavy metals in aquatic environments thanks to Sea Grant research. This is critical because, within the Great Lakes region alone, there are 43 designated Areas of Concern which are habitats tagged for intensive cleanup to improve water quality. In 2011, a Sea Grant researcher was awarded a U.S. patent for a process that manipulates light and water temperature to cause yellow perch to spawn out of season. The tasty finfish is the iconic center of Wisconsin s Friday-night fish fry and wild stocks in the Great Lakes are nearly depleted. Now, year-round consumer demand in the state and region is more easily met and aquaculture operations producing the fish can increase their efficiency and their profits. 18

20 The Wisconsin Coastal Atlas is a Web portal that catalogs, integrates and shares distributed sources of geospatial Great Lakes data to assist communities in day-to-day coastal management or to plan for possible disasters such as flooding or bluff erosion. Sea Grant s geographic information systems specialist worked with colleagues at UW-Madison to build a cartographic frame featuring a gallery of Great Lakes basin-wide, state and local maps; built a searchable catalog of coastal data; and documented work flow and processes, which provides a future tutorial for other states that may wish to undertake their own coastal atlases through this cutting-edge technology only recently being adopted across the country. WATER RESOURCES INSTITUTE Mission To establish the University of Wisconsin as a leading provider of objective, science-based information regarding water supply and water-quality issues of importance to Wisconsin and the United States. Accomplishments The institute investigated the causes of changes in groundwater recharge rates in southeast Wisconsin and developed groundwater recharge estimates for a groundwater flow model for the region. Groundwater levels in drinking-water wells have dropped more than 450 feet around Milwaukee and Waukesha over the last 100 years. Groundwater resource managers can use this type of model to deal with similar drawdown issues in other parts of Wisconsin. The institute funded research to design a water-purifying system that destroys a variety of chemical and microbial contaminants. In addition to ensuring a clean water supply to benefit human health the world over, the system represents an economic attribute in Wisconsin. The private company formed in Madison to market the system has attracted $5.3 million in venture capital and anticipates total employment of 25 by the end of Furthermore, it plans to add 30 to 50 manufacturing jobs. The institute supports ongoing education and information sharing through professional meetings, and resources such as websites, manuals, videos, fact sheets and audio podcasts. The institute is an annual co-sponsor of the American Water Resources Association Wisconsin Section meeting that in 2012 attracted a record number of posters, abstracts and student attendees. In terms of resources, the most popular details rain garden benefits and construction. In six years, it has been downloaded nearly 12,000 times. BIOTECHNOLOGY CENTER The University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center is a world-class, comprehensive, multidisciplinary biotechnology center that supports, coordinates and disseminates scientific advances in biotechnology. There are three key activities within the Biotechnology Center: (1) resource core facilities (2) innovative interdisciplinary faculty research, particularly in the area of genomics and (3) biotechnology outreach. The UWBC s DNA Sequencing Core Facility recently procured and now administers several multimillion dollars worth of state of the art next generation DNA sequencers. These instruments allow campus researchers to rapidly and cheaply sequence the complete genome of all organisms, including humans. This activity crosses all fields of biology, from forensics to medicine, and is critical to campus success in obtaining federal and non-federal research funding. The UWBC has successfully obtained renewal funding for two critical training grants: the National Institute of Health s Genomic Sciences Training Grant (GSTP) and the National Library of Medicine s Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine Training Grant (CIBM). 19