Research Council Report & Recommendations

Report and Recommendation for Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities at SUNY Brockport.

2024-2025 Academic Year - May 30, 2025

Compiled by the Research Council Members:

Kathryn Amatangelo
Godfred Antwi (Chair)
Kellie Barbato
Cameron Harwick
Markus Hoffmann
Michael Kramer
Laura Merkl
Adam Rich
Natalie Sarrazin
Carol Wade

Summary

During the 2024–2025 academic year, the council undertook a series of activities aimed at identifying and proposing strategies that could enhance research, scholarship, and creative endeavors at SUNY Brockport. These efforts culminated in the recommendations summarized below:

As part of our annual report, the council undertook an information-gathering effort focused on research and scholarship related support and resources available at selected SUNY institutions. Based on the outcome of this activity, the council proposes the following recommendations:
1. Ensure that information, particularly related to external funding, is readily accessible on the Research Foundation Office’s website.
2. Establish a database to maintain a library of successful sample external grant proposals.
3. Consider expanding the scope of the Faculty Scholarship Award (FSA) to include costs associated with peer-reviewed publications.
4. The council recommends that the administration explore reducing faculty advising loads to provide more dedicated time for research, scholarship, and the pursuit of external funding opportunities.
5. Consider establishing a Proposal Development Unit to support faculty in the development of competitive extramural funding proposals.
ATP incentives for External Grant Applications: Academic departments should consider adding language to their APT documents that acknowledge and credits external grant applications that receive favorable reviews, even if they are not funded.
Increase support for external fellowships: It is essential to increase support for external fellowships through a variety of strategies, including:
1. Developing a clear, transparent, equitable and uniform policy and procedure for external fellowships and sabbaticals.
2. Incorporating subject matter experts into the internal review process for sabbaticals related to external fellowships.
3. Creating mechanisms to reintegrate externally awarded fellowships into campus teaching and scholarly engagement.
4. Connecting faculty engaged in active research and scholarship with invitation-only foundations such as Mellon, Carnegie, and Ford, as well as with alumni and local donors who may be interested in supporting their work.
Student Research: Consider promoting and highlighting student involvement in faculty-led research as an important form of experiential or project-based learning.

Research Support at Other SUNY Institutions

As part of our annual report, the council undertook an information-gathering effort focused on research and scholarship related support and resources available at selected SUNY institutions, including the University at Albany, Binghamton, Cortland, Oswego, Downstate, the University at Buffalo, and Stony Brook with the goal of identifying initiatives, programs, or support systems that if implemented at SUNY Brockport could enhance research, scholarship and creative endeavors on campus. Based on our findings, the council proposes the following recommendations:

Ensure that information, particularly that related to external funding, is readily accessible on the Research Foundation Office’s website. The council recommends the Research Foundation Office collaborate with the Communications Office and a cross-section of representative faculty or departments to enhance the content and design of the website by providing/creating more effective pathways for applying for external funding. The website could include annually updated and verified links to forms for approval from the Research Office, contact details on how to access those forms and other necessary forms, as well as proposal due dates and timelines.

Additionally, the council proposes that the Scholarship, Research & Sponsored Programs Office establish a digital database to maintain a library of successful sample proposals (with permission from the PIs) to serve as a resource hub and assist faculty in writing competitive proposals when applying for external funding.

Consider expanding the scope of the Faculty Scholarship Award (FSA) to include costs associated with peer-reviewed publications, such as fees for open-access journals, production costs for books and monographs, and other scholarly works. For example, at Oswego University, the Office of the Provost offers support to help full-time faculty cover expenses related to their scholarly publications. Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, with funding available up to $2,000 per request.

The council recommends that the administration explore reducing faculty advising loads to provide more dedicated time for research, scholarship, and the pursuit of external funding opportunities.

Consider establishing a Proposal Development Unit to support faculty in the development of competitive extramural funding proposals. In addition to helping faculty craft strong and competitive proposals, the unit would offer services such as statistical and qualitative analysis consulting, data documentation, study design support, and other forms of methodological assistance. SUNY Institutions including Stony Brook, Binghamton, the University at Albany and others provide such assistance. For example, a collaboration between SUNY Downstate and the University at Albany’s Data Management & Analytics Center (DMAC) provides technical assistance and data management support to SUNY Downstate faculty and staff involved in research.

Moreover, consider enhancing resource support for the Office of Scholarship, Research, and Sponsored Programs to provide more comprehensive assistance for faculty research and scholarship development beyond administrative support.

Lastly, It is essential that policies and recommendations concerning APT documents, especially those related to research and scholarship are communicated clearly and consistently to new faculty by their mentors, chairs, and deans.

Support for External Fellowships

The council proposes developing a clear, transparent, and uniform policy and procedure for external fellowships and sabbaticals. In doing so, the Research Foundation Office should consider researching sabbatical policies related to external funding across other SUNY institutions, from comprehensive to R1 universities to identify best practices that could inform the development of more transparent policies and procedures at SUNY Brockport.

Additionally, to improve faculty confidence in the internal review process for sabbaticals related to external fellowships, the council suggests utilizing the services of subject matter experts in the review process. These experts would assist in assessing the disciplinary relevance, feasibility, and potential scholarly impact of sabbatical proposals, thus enhancing the credibility, transparency, and rigor of the review.

Currently, the university seems to lack direct connections with invitation-only foundations such as Mellon, Carnegie, and Ford. It may be beneficial to strategically position ourselves to build relationships with these organizations.

Also, faculty researchers currently have limited avenues for connecting/linking their scholarship (both research and teaching) with interested alumni and local donors. This represents a potentially untapped resource, as there are likely many alumni and community supporters who would be enthusiastic about supporting faculty-led research initiatives. Therefore, consider increasing resource allocation to the Office of Scholarship, Research, and Sponsored Programs to strengthen its capacity to connect faculty engaged in active research and scholarship with alumni and local donors who may be interested in supporting their work.

Moreover, the council recommends developing mechanisms to loop externally awarded fellowships back into campus teaching and scholarly engagement. When a faculty member is engaged in an external grant or fellowship, consider creating funding opportunities that allow students to participate as experiential learners or research assistants, even if faculty member is away or is doing an external fellowship while on campus. Additionally, upon completion of an external fellowship, faculty could be invited to give a public talk or record a podcast, coordinated through the Communications Office, to share their work with the broader campus community.

The council recommends exploring the development of a humanities institute at SUNY Brockport. Several foundations award grants in the humanities exclusively to institutions that have a designated humanities center or institute. Establishing such a center at SUNY Brockport could position the campus to compete more effectively for this funding. A humanities institute could be solely for Brockport, but a more ambitious, alternative model might involve creating a SUNY-wide Humanities Institute that is based at Brockport (a good model for this can be found in the University of California Humanities Research Institute. A SUNY Humanities institute based at Brockport could provide faculty from across the SUNY system with the opportunity to spend a semester or year in residence at Brockport. This fellowship would enable them to connect their research agendas to Brockport students through experiential learning internships and with Brockport faculty. It could make Brockport a standout institution within the SUNY system and serve as an effective magnet for recruiting students and faculty to the institution.

There may be interest from foundations such as Mellon and Carnegie in supporting the
development of a SUNY Humanities Institute housed at SUNY Brockport precisely because it is a comprehensive university rather than a R1. Such an institute could significantly elevate Brockport’s role in advancing humanities research within the SUNY system and beyond it through partnerships with educators, community members, municipalities, foundations, and businesses throughout New York State and beyond it.

ATP Incentives for External Grant Applications

Preparing and applying for external grants involves significant effort, research, and time, making it a demanding process. However, the success rate for new Research Project Grants (RPGs) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was just 21.3% in FY 2023, while the overall funding rate for the National Science Foundation (NSF) was 26% in FY 2024 (NIH, 2023; NSF, 2024). Many National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Grants as well as private foundation grants have success rates that hover around 10% or lower. Given the substantial time and effort required for grant applications, coupled with the low success rates for external funding, the Council recommends that departments consider adding language to their APT documents that acknowledge and credits external grant applications that receive favorable reviews, even if they are not funded.

Template Statements

Securing funding from national agencies such as NSF or NIH is a significant scholarly achievement, equivalent to a peer-reviewed publication. Successful grantsmanship often involves multiple rounds of submission, revision, and resubmission. A scored NIH proposal is considered competitive, with fewer than 50% receiving scores. Scored proposals receive detailed reviews, critical for resubmission. Similarly, NSF proposals ranked as highly competitive, competitive, or low competitive also receive valuable feedback. A well-ranked proposal, with reviewer comments addressed and resubmitted by the candidate as the principal investigator, will be recognized as equivalent to a peer-reviewed publication. Only one competitively scored proposal may be counted as one of the four peer reviewed products.

An external grant proposal that undergoes a competitive review process and receives a favorable evaluation from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), or similar organizations will be considered equivalent to a peer-reviewed publication in a second-tier journal when evaluating faculty performance for renewal or continuing appointment, even if the proposal is not funded. The candidate must be listed as the Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), and documentation of the review outcome, along with a clear description of the candidate’s role in the proposal, must be included in the faculty renewal or continuing appointment application portfolio.

Student Research Support

Consider promoting and highlighting student involvement in faculty-led research as an important form of experiential or project-based learning. By emphasizing the hands-on, inquiry-driven nature of research, students can better understand how it connects theory to real-world applications. This approach may also enhance student engagement and underscore the broader value of research beyond the classroom.

Additionally, there is a clear need to enhance support for student research by providing essential supplies, travel funding, and access to necessary materials and equipment for research, scholarship, and creative activities. The administration should consider expanding and increasing available funding opportunities, such as competitive Mini grants, to better support student research activities.