Scholarly Messenger

November 9, 2012

Office of the Provost Announces Reorganization
A reorganization plan has been implemented in the Texas Tech University Office of the Provost, based on a special opportunity for Vice Provost Valerie Paton and promotion of Peggy Miller, who has served as interim dean of the Graduate School since November 2010. Read more >>

eRA Commons User Guides
A recent newsletter from eRA Communications listed several user guides. Of interest to faculty with NIH funding is the RPPR Instruction Guide. Other user guides include:

• RPPR Instruction Guide
• Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) User Guide
• Change of Institution User Guide
• eRA Commons Administrative Supplement User Guide
• eRA Commons User Guide
• eSNAP User Guide
• xTrain User Guide
• Federal Financial Report User Guide
• Account Management System (AMS) User Guide

NIH Creates Next Steps Web page
Sally Rockey, NIH's deputy director of extramural research, looks at help for researchers considering resubmitting a proposal. Read her blog >>

Detailed Guidelines for the Research Methods Section of a Proposal
For faculty writing proposals, especially to NIH, for experimental studies in humans and animals–NINDS has posted explicit guidelines for what to include in your plans for designing and reporting experiments (and about what reviewers should consider). For faculty planning clinical trials–or any work with groups of human participants who are randomly assigned to groups, there is parallel advice in the CONSORT 2010 guidelines.

New NSF Submissions Moves to Research.gov
Beginning in early 2013 researchers will submit all Project Reports through Research.gov. The National Science Foundation will completely transfer all project reporting from FastLane to Research.gov. Principal Investigators and will use Research.gov to meet all NSF project reporting requirements, including submission of Final, Interim, and Annual Project Reports and the Project Outcomes Report. Read more >>

2012 Nobel Prize Winners
The 2012 Nobel Prizes were awarded in October. A complete list of the winners can be found here.

RCR & Research Integrity

Social Responsibility, the Lesser Discussed Parameter of Responsible Research Conduct
The issue of social responsibility is one of the most highly complex areas of Responsible Research Conduct, and possibly one of the least discussed Read more >>

Upcoming Events

Faculty Proposal Development Program
The Office of Research & Innovation offers a proposal development program for all faculty, but primarily aimed at junior faculty interested in learning more about writing proposals. The program is a series of nine one and a half hour seminars. The program requires a time commitment from the faculty member and support from the college and department. For more information, contact Heather Morris, director of the Research Development Team.

• November 2
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• December 7
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• January 4
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• February 1
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• March 1
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• April 5
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• May 3
  1:30-3 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library

Research Orientation for New Faculty
In order to facilitate a smooth transition to the research process at Texas Tech, the Office of Research Services is conducting a research orientation for all incoming faculty and research staff. Faculty who are new to campus or those who have never attended a research orientation are encouraged to attend. The session will cover proposal development and processing; review institutional policies and procedures affecting research at Texas Tech; internal and external funding opportunities; and inform attendees about compliance issues. Attendance is not mandatory but strongly encouraged, especially in light of recent changes to various compliance regulations.

• December 6, 2012
  9:30 a.m.-noon, OR, 1-3:30 p.m.
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• January 15, 2013
  9:30 a.m.-noon
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
  Register here >>
  Registration is required as seating is limited. Please indicate the time and date of the session you will attend.

Budget Basics
The Office of Research Services is conducting a Budget Basic workshop to help faculty and research staff. The session will cover types of budgets, personnel costs, fringe benefits, indirect costs, subcontract requirements, graduate student tuition and fee remission, cost sharing, budget justification and the ORS budget worksheet. Attendance is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged.

• November 9, 2012
  10 a.m.-noon
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
• December 14, 2012
  10 a.m.-noon
  Teaching, Learning Professional Development Center, Room 153 in the Library
  Register here >>
  Registration is required as seating is limited. Please indicate the time and date of the session you will attend.

47th Annual Western Literature Association Conference, Western Crossroads: Literature, Social Justice, Environment
The conference, held in Lubbock this year, features a variety of authors and scholars including Pulitzer and National Book Award winner Annie Proulx ("Brokeback Mountain" and "The Shipping News") who will kick off the conference Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. with a reading.

• November 7-10
  Overton Hotel

Faculty, staff and students who would like to attend just a single reading or panel, please bring your TTU ID to the Conference Registration Desk at the Overton for free admission and a temporary pass.
For faculty wishing to have students attend a panel or reading, we will scan TTU ID's and provide students with written proof of attendance.
All Texas Tech faculty, staff, and students who wish to attend 2-4 panels or readings of the conference are invited to register as a guest here.
Those wishing to access all panels, plenary sessions, readings, receptions, and other events may register as full registrants here.
A copy of the conference program is available here.

Freeing the West: A Conversation About Participatory Social Art and the Practice of Law
In conjunction with the Western Literature Association Conference, the Museum of Texas Tech University and Landmark Arts, present an unusual seminar that merges the forms of a conference session, an open-ended encounter, and a performative artistic experience. For more information >>

• November 10
  2:30-4 p.m.
  Helen Devitt Jones Auditorium of the Museum of Texas Tech University

Funding & Award Opportunities

2013 Jefferson Science Fellowships
Tenured, or similarly ranked, academic scientists, engineers and physicians from U.S. institutions of higher learning, who are U.S. citizens, are eligible for selection as Jefferson Science Fellows (JSF). Each Fellow will spend one year at the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for an on-site assignment in Washington, D.C. that may also involve extended stays at U.S. foreign embassies and/or missions. Read More >>

Funding Opportunities: A listing of external and internal funding opportunities is available on the OR&I's Funding Resources website.