Strategic Investment Fund for Recruitment FY15/16

Beginning in FY15/16, the Offices of Research, in collaboration with the Provost, initiated formulaic distribution of start-up funds (20% of UKRF budget) to units based on 4-year averages of expenditures according to the enrichment calculation split on eIAFs.  These funds are used for unit-specific recruitments, as well as leveraging of recruits across units for research-intensive faculty, consistent with the initiatives and action steps within the Research Section of the UK Strategic Plan. 

In FY15/16, the Office of Research held an institution-wide competition for an additional pool of funds, termed Strategic Investment Funds (SIF), to leverage start-up for faculty recruitments. The SIF was to be used to support start-up costs for faculty recruitments according to the following two purposes: 

• Support of interdisciplinary new recruits that complement and extend areas of research strength.
• Support of new recruits that complement and extend research programs in health disparities (within Research Building 2). 

The following are underlying principles and/or expectations for this competition:

• Funds must be used for start-up purposes for recruitment of new investigators (or teams) to UK.
• The percentage of cost-share (excluding salary) will be a factor considered in evaluating requests, with a minimum of 50% cost-share (excluding salary) from participating units.
• Recruitments can (and preferentially should) cross interdisciplinary boundaries (e.g., more than one Department, and ideally more than one unit).

Eight requests were received for start-up, totaling over $2 million.  A faculty panel, appointed by the Vice President for Research, reviewed and discussed each request, and scored applications consistent with the goals of the program.  Three meritorious requests were chosen for total support at $769,176. 

• A Junior Faculty recruit between the College of Arts & Sciences (Chemistry), Center for Applied Energy Research, and College of Pharmacy (Pharmaceutical Sciences) to develop a new biological chemistry platform for metabolic engineering of microalgae in fuel production. 
• A Junior Faculty recruit between the College of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering), College of Agriculture (Biosystems), College of Arts and Sciences (Chemistry, Geography) and Kentucky Transportation Center to develop fluid-structure interactions to add capabilities to aerospace research,
• A Junior Faculty recruit between the College of Nursing, College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy to develop and/or strengthen programs in tobacco and other health-related policies that influence disparate groups.