How to Establish a Center or Institute at ISU

Informal proposals to establish new centers and institutes may come from any group of faculty members within the university and may be discussed informally at all levels. Formal proposals are necessary for the official establishment of centers and institutes.

These proposals must include a detailed description of the proposed unit, including information on who will be involved, what the vision is for the new unit, how it will be structured and how it will be funded. Formal proposals are reviewed and approved by all departmental chairs and/or center/institute directors involved, by all academic deans who are involved, by the Vice Provost for Extension if outreach activities are proposed, by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development if research activities are proposed and by the Provost. These recommendations are then forwarded by the Provost to the President.

If the President concurs that a center or institute be established, then the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development works with the respective unit to meet notification and/or approval requirements set forth by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. All centers and institutes must be submitted to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa if they contain a research, instructional and/or outreach component and include an institutional commitment of $200,000 or more. Centers that are considered "service-related" and only provide service to individuals on-campus (i.e., the Instructional Technology Center and the Women's Center) are exempt from this reporting requirement.

If the center or institute is established through a grant from an external agency, the external proposal will usually serve as the formal proposal--please contact Sonja Klocker in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development for further instructions upon receipt of notification of the external grant.

Each center and institute should provide a brief report annually. All centers and institutes should be formally reviewed every seven years. If the unit is closely associated with an academic department, the center/institute review may be done in conjunction with that of the department. Other larger organizations are usually reviewed independently but in a manner similar to the way departments are reviewed.

Any questions related to centers and institutes should be directed to Sonja Klocker in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (294-6344).