1. COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
Research Strategic Plan
I accordance to the mission of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the College wishes to promote,
expand and validate the scientific base of nursing knowledge and practice through the discovery, organization and
transmission of research-­based knowledge, skills and values. It is the overall goal of the College to increase the
research productivity of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences by submitting high quality research proposals to
sponsors. In order to achieve this, it is the College’s vision to expand and dedicate research facilities and equipment
to all researchers for the purpose of submitting more high-­quality research proposals. The facilities and equipment
necessary to increase research production must meet the following criteria: they must increase the research
quality of all proposals submitted;; they must have a measurable research impact;; lend themselves to both
research and academic collaborations;; and be an integral part of the dissemination of research results.
Finally, the facilities and equipment must be flexible enough to allow inter-­ and intra-­disciplinary research to be
conducted.
The College has several resources available for all researchers. First, The College employs a full-­time
Director of Research Programs whose exclusive responsibility is to assist faculty in finding grant opportunities, lead
the effort for submission of the proposal for funding, as well as managing the funded projects in accordance to the
sponsor’s guidelines. In addition, the College spends a considerable amount of money each year in support of all
faculty researchers. Each tenure-­earning faculty member receives a $5,000 startup fund to be utilized for research
purposes as they see fit. Additionally, for two years now, the College has awarded $50,000 in seed grants to 10
faculty members for the purpose of collecting data and the eventual submission of a grant for extramural funding. It
is expected that the College will award an additional $25,000 (depending on funding) in seed grants this summer
2009. The college also supports conference travel, as well as consultant fees for grant reviews. Finally, the college
assigns graduate students to researchers for the purpose of assisting the faculty member in their research
endeavors.
In order to further the research aims of the College, it will be necessary to expand the current resources
available to our researchers. Specifically, dedicated research facilities will enhance our researcher’s ability to recruit
participants, conduct surveys, and eventually obtain more R01 and center grants. In addition, research facilities will
allow project staff to monitor all research activities and increase the reliability of study results. The dedicated
research facilities must have state of the art technical capabilities, including wireless technology, and
videoconferencing capabilities. Additionally, a dedicated computer pool with the latest data analysis software, as
well as capabilities for ACASI software for the purposes of participant self-­interviews would be necessary. Finally, a
statistical support center, with dedicated statisticians and led by a faculty member should be established in order to
provide statistical support for all researchers in the University.
The Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is committed to increasing the research
productivity and scholarly activity of the faculty. There have been policies instituted as well as resources invested by
the College for the specific purpose of research productivity. Future plans include continuing to support extant
faculty, as well as hire more tenure earning faculty for the purpose of grant submission. Dedicated research
resources and facilities are a necessary next step in the evolution of research at the College of Nursing and Health
Sciences. These resources will allow our researchers to conduct the necessary data collection for future research
projects.