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   6.08      Approval of New Centers and Institutes

A.       Centers, institutes, and similar organizational units can make a major contribution to a university.  Such units, if well organized, adequately funded, and appropriately integrated into the university, can support the mission of the university, particularly in the areas of research and public service.  On the other hand, a center or institute can detract from the teaching commitment of the institution by siphoning off faculty resources or by otherwise diverting attention and money from more appropriate purposes.  Furthermore, such units are often easier to create than to discontinue, particularly when an ongoing commitment of internal financial resources is involved. 

B.   Proposals to create new centers or institutes at the universities, which require an annual institutional commitment of $250,000 or more, shall be submitted to the Board Office.  Following review by the Board Office and approval by the Council of Provosts, the request shall be placed on the agenda for the next appropriate meeting of the Board of Regents’ Education and Student Affairs Committee.  The Committee shall review the proposal and recommend action by the Board of Regents or take other action as it deems appropriate.  If the total amount of the external funding of $1 million or more, the proposal for the center or institute shall be submitted to the Board Office as information for the Board of Regents.  Information about centers or institutes which do not meet either of the thresholds shall be submitted to the Board Office at the discretion of the institution. 

In general, the type of center of institute that requires Board approval shall be the one that focuses on faculty-driven research and that is expected to leverage individual research grants into larger institutional projects. 

C.    The proposals shall be submitted in a format developed by the Board Office (Form C). 

D.   The institutions shall conduct a review of Board-approved centers and institutes on a seven year cycle and shall provide the Board Office with an annual list of centers and institutes that have been reviewed.  A one page report on each center or institute reviewed shall be provided to the Board Office in a format developed by the Board Office (Form D).  

E.    The Board Office shall periodically and selectively identify centers and institutes from the reports submitted by the institution to be audited on site.  The Board Office shall determine if any matters resulting from the audits need Board action and place them on the agenda of the Board of Regents’ Education and Student Affairs Committee.