This document summarizes the work of the Strategic Planning Working Group on Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors at WKU. It identifies the group's strengths as valuing diversity of scholarly activities, student collaboration, internal grant funding, and applied research addressing local issues. Challenges include lack of incentives for scholarship and high teaching loads. The group's aspirations are for WKU to be a destination for student scholarship, recognized faculty research, more collaboration, and research addressing worldwide issues. The vision is for WKU to foster an environment supporting all faculty and students engaging in competitive scholarship.

1. Strategic Planning Working Group on Research, Scholarship and
Creative Endeavors
Members:
Kelly Madole – Co-Chair – institutional, CHAIR, PSYCH SCI, OCSE
Dave Tatman – Co-Chair – corporate, CONSULTANT, ORCA
Ron Bunch – corporate, PRESIDENT & CEO BG AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Barbara Burch – Faculty Regent, PROVOST EMERITA, CEBS
Claus Ernst – Faculty Regent, DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSIT PROF, MATHEMATICS
Neale Chumbler – institutional, DEAN, CHHS
Cheryl Davis – institutional, ASSC PROVOST/RESEARCH/CREATIVITY, ORCA
Jeff Hook – corporate, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR R&D
Jean-Luc Houle – ASSOCIATE PROF, ANTHROPOLOGY, PCAL
Kara Lowry – Student, BIOLOGY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE / CHEMISTRY
Jenni Redifer – ASST TO THE DEAN FOR RESEARCH, CEBS
Michael Smith – institutional, PROF, BIOLOGY, OCSE
Yvonne Petkus - institutional, PROF, ART, PCAL

2. Strategic Planning Working Group on Research, Scholarship
and Creative Endeavors
Strengths, Challenges, and Aspirations
Strengths, challenges and aspirations were solicited from
• Department chairs/heads (for their unit)
• Committee members (for the university)

3. Strategic Planning Working Group on Research, Scholarship
and Creative Endeavors
Strengths
• WKU values a diversity of scholarly activities
• Involvement of students as true collaborators
• Internal grant funding mechanisms
• Appropriate value placed on external funding
• Applied research that addresses local issues
• Internationally recognized research and creative activities
• Well-trained faculty who value research
• Potential for interdisciplinary work

4. Strategic Planning Working Group on Research, Scholarship
and Creative Endeavors
Challenges
• Lack of incentives for engaging in scholarly activities
• Need to involve more faculty in scholarship
• High teaching and service loads for faculty
• Poor graduate student funding
• Lack of administrative support, procedures that hinder scholarship
• Inadequate financial resources
• Time needed to develop students as research collaborators
• Difficulty in developing collaborative relationship among scholars

5. Strategic Planning Working Group on Research, Scholarship
and Creative Endeavors
Aspirations
• Become a destination of choice for students who want to do hands-on
scholarship
• WKU faculty will be recognized in their disciplines for producing high-
quality work
• More collaborative efforts within the university and region
• More students involved in all types of scholarship (service learning,
internships, etc.)
• Research that address worldwide issues and creates mutually beneficial
connections with both local and global communities
• Graduates equipped for careers of today and the future

6. Transformative Scholarship in a Student-
Centered Learning Environment
WKU fosters an environment in which all faculty and
students have an opportunity to engage in nationally-
competitive scholarship
Advance students’
personal and
professional
development through
research and
creative activities
Raise the
scholarly profile
of the university
through faculty
and student
research and
creative activities
Leverage faculty
and student
scholarly
expertise to
improve quality of
life and support
regional
economic
diversification
VISION
Mission
Goals

7. Advance students’ personal and professional development through
research and creative activities
Goal
Objectives
Expand access to mentored student research and creative activities
Increase faculty involvement in mentoring of student scholarly
activities
Strategies
• Brand WKU as the destination of choice for undergraduate scholarship
(broadly construed, not just STEM)
• Create an office of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative
activities within the Office of Research and Creative Activities
• Develop mentoring and support for undergraduate research, scholarship,
and creative activities in the arts and humanities
• Evaluate programs across the undergraduate curriculum for incorporation of
undergraduate research and creative activities

8. Raise the scholarly profile of the university through faculty and
student research and creative activities
Goal
Objectives
Prioritize faculty and student scholarship within all units
Increase support for student and faculty scholarship
Strategies
• Incorporate mentoring of graduate and undergraduate research in hiring,
tenure, promotion, and merit pay with appropriate workload adjustments.
• Examine administrative support mechanism to ensure that they align with
and support the research, scholarship and creative activities of the university
• Targeted expansion of graduate assistantship funds to support graduate
student research and creative activities using benchmarking and annual
assessment of use and effectiveness of assistantships
• Targeted growth or reduction in graduate programs for a balanced portfolio
of professional and scholarly programs

9. Leverage faculty and student scholarly expertise to improve quality
of life and support regional economic diversification
Goal
Objectives
Improve collaboration between community agencies and academic
programs
Expand opportunities for internships with business and community
partners
Strategies
• Create and maintain a database of faculty expertise within the Office of
Research and Creative Activities
• Hold an ORCA-hosted roundtable discussion with WKU faculty and regional
business and community leaders to develop 10 long-term research ideas for
future investment.
• Create scholarship opportunities for unpaid student internships
• Form a campus-wide task force to identify interdisciplinary degree programs
that will respond to needs in the community and state
Increase WKU-industry collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship