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Research Administrators cannot do the job alone. Often they find it helpful to form decision-making or advisory bodies to help them accomplish the institutional research mission. Obviously, such advisory bodies are the products of the institutional culture and, frequently, the needs of the moment. Thus, there are both temporary and long-term boards, councils, and committees. Boards and councils often signify long-term efforts to improve research administration. Committees, sometimes called groups, are often short-term bodies formed to resolve certain issues. These bodies, councils and committees often work best when they are charged by senior adminstration and report back to the senior administration. This person could be a president, provost, CFO, dean, administrative council, or other such senior body.
Whatever the charge, these bodies must have a clear sense of outcomes as part of the charge and move toward those goals. Often it is best to have a clear completion date to ensure that the work does not drag on. Just as often, a facilitator ensures that the group remains on target because there is a propensity to get off track and for meetings to dissolve into "sidebars."
No matter what the group's charge is, or whether it is temporary or long-term, accurate minutes must be kept and published in a timely manner. The minutes make the activities of the group official and serve as a common reference point for its deliberations, information brought to it, recommendations, enactments (if empowered to make final decisions), and for reports. The group needs to review the minutes in draft, suggest revisions, and discuss and approve them at the next meeting. The minutes should reflect the key points in the original charge.
Some key resouces to help creat a structure are published by the American Bar Association (ABA) and may be purchased for research administrators by a member of the ABA. The general counsel at your institution will often be a member of the group and can use your account number to pay for these works. The point is that these sources are practical in nature and can be of much help as you grope for solutions to structural issues in your research foundation. Also, these sources are generic enough to help you understand the structure of even short-term committees.
See Also:
Overton, George W., Jeannie Carmedelle Frey, eds. Guidebook for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations, 2nd edition, Committee on Nonprofit Corporations, Section of Business Law, American Bar Association, Chicago: American Bar Association, 2002.
Corporate Director's Guidebook, 4th Edition, Section of Business Law, American Bar Association, Chicago: American Bar Association, 2004.
Original Contributor:
Phillip Myers, Western Kentucky University - phillip.myers@wku.edu
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