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Vision and Management of a Research Program at a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Vision and Management of a Research Program at a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. John D. Kirby, Ph.D. South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape

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Vision and Management of a Research Program at a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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  1. Vision and Management of a Research Program at a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences John D. Kirby, Ph.D. South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota

  2. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions

  3. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” Two themes: Change is inevitable, yet variable; Continuum, shades of grey instead of black and white; Together, we operate in an environment of organizational “punctuated equilibrium” the goal is manage/”lead” change to create additional opportunity.

  4. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions

  5. Key Legislation for Agricultural Research • Morrill Act 1862, 1890 • Hatch Act 1887 • Adams Act 1906 • Smith-Lever Act 1914 • Bankhead-Jones Act 1935 • Hatch Formula Funds 1955, 1972 • Evans-Allen Act 1977 • Bayh-Dole Act 1980 • Food, Conservation 2008 • and Energy Act

  6. Key Legislation for Research Funding • NIH (2009 ~$25b) • Ransdall Act 1930 • PHS Act 1944 • NSF (2009 ~$5.5b) • NSF Act 1950 • Individual Support Program 1960 • USDA (2009 ~$0.2b) • -Hatch Act 1887 • -CRGO ($17m) 1977 • -NRI ($73m) 1991 • -AFRI ($201m) 2008

  7. The Changing Landscape of Agricultural Research National: Structure: National Institute for Agriculture Faces: REE Undersecretary Rajiv Shah and NIFA Director Roger Beachy Priorities: Biofuels; Food Safety (US and Global); Enhanced Plant and Animal Production (Global Food Security); Human Nutrition and Health; Climate Change. -Enhanced competitive funding opportunities

  8. The Changing Landscape of Agricultural Research State Level: -Decreased institutional funding due to changes in revenue and economic outlook. Transient? -Increased interest in self supporting activities with economic development potential. -Tremendous potential for unique University/Industry joint activities that would/may have been restricted in the recent past.

  9. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions

  10. The 21st Century ResearchEnterprise 1. Portfolio of research activities that spans the full continuum from applied (transformational work with CES) to fundamental (basic) sciences. 2. Increased focus on functional interdisciplinary teams that exploit complimentary skills and capacity across disciplines, locations and organizations. 3. Increased focus on high impact programs with flexibility to redirect resources as required. Nimble. 4. Institutional and stakeholder buy-in on a limited number of major research “pillars”/priorities.

  11. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions

  12. Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders There is a real need to increase the level of interaction among institutions in the system- an appearance of program duplication will draw additional scrutiny. 2. Development of nontraditional alliances- those between university researchers, company staff and others. Kannapolis, RTP and Centennial Park. 3. Increased coordination of programs with regional institutions, to facilitate activity on important research topics, to ensure stakeholder interests are met. 4. Make activities transparent and accessible by all.

  13. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions

  14. Building program flexibility and strength: examples UofA: Program in cell and Molecular Biology, worked to develop the first campus multi-college interdisciplinary graduate program to enhance opportunities for faculty and graduate students. SDSU: Agricultural Experiment Station budget revision from 93% salaries to 68% salaries over a three year period, while increasing faculty FTE from 61 to 84 at the same time. Recent budget cuts have moved us to 75% salaries for FY10.

  15. Building program flexibility and strength: examples SDSU: Drought Tolerance Biotechnology Center. We worked with the Governor’s Office to develop a $3m proposal to develop the “omics” capacity to compliment our traditional strengths in agronomy and plant breeding. A key requirement is to provide access to germplasm that optimizes the potential for stable bimass production over time. Worked with commodity groups in state to build Seed Technology Laboratory to house Center, which includes lab space for corporate partners. Salary re- direction led to the hiring of 10 new faculty for center.

  16. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions

  17. Philosophy of leadership and management Make activities, decision making, and process transparent and accessible to all involved. Operate with a model for shared leadership, ensuring that those affected by decisions are involved in the decision making process- there shouldn’t be any surprises. 3. Ensure that those with operational responsibility have the authority and resources to accomplish the task. 4. Empower those you work with to succeed. 5. Reward success and help to overcome setbacks.

  18. “May you live in interesting times” Or ”Seizing opportunities during difficult times” A changing landscape The 21st century research enterprise Partnerships, coalitions and permeable borders Building program flexibility and strength: examples Philosophy of leadership and management Questions?

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