The Research Office

Oakland University provides state-of-the-art research facilities and a rich, collaborative environment for our faculty and students in support of their research and educational activities. OU is recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as one of the nation’s doctoral research universities. We are proud of the wide spectrum of research and other scholarly and creative activities made possible by the excellence of our faculty, students, facilities and institutional culture that is inclusive of all disciplines.

The Research Office provides the necessary administrative infrastructure for investigators, and strongly encourages the involvement of students in research. OU is committed to the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research, which are essential for sustaining an excellent research program that contributes to the well-being of our local, national and global communities. We assist with and oversee various aspects of the research enterprise, including: faculty development and training, research development, grants and contracts, regulatory compliance, technology and commercialization.

THE PRESIDENT'S EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND THE AFTERMATH - UPDATES
February 4, 2025

On January 27 and 28, the President issued directives to federal granting agencies, pausing all of them in their grant-related work until February 10, 2025.  Rumors are flying – and truth be told, not much is known for certain.  This is fast-moving and there are many moving parts.  However, rest assured that we are monitoring the situation constantly, and you will be informed as more is known.

We do know that the President’s concern is aligning grant funding with the Executive Orders issued in the first week of his presidency.  Remember that we have hundreds of awarded projects at any one time – and for the vast majority of them there are no touch points between the funded work and the Executive Orders.  Our expectation is that after February 10, these grants will resume as they were.

We also know that ALL federal grant sponsors have paused, per the President’s order, our ability to “draw down” funds that reimburse OU for grant-related expenses.   As you know, grant awards are not deposited in toto in the University’s account for use by the PI and the project.  Rather, the PI and the project incur costs at the OU-level, which are then reimbursed by the federal sponsors.  

After conversations with President Pescovitz’s office, the plan at OU looks like this.  Grant-funded salaries (including student stipends, post-docs, and undergraduates) will continue to be paid, even though we will not be quickly able to recover those costs from the federal sponsors.  This practice will drive grants a little further into deficit than is typical, but it provides people with a little bit of security.  Capitalized equipment purchases should be paused – with a few exceptions where purchasing is already underway.  Travel and other entirely-legitimate grant expenses will be reviewed carefully – our regular review, of course, but also with a gentle eye toward managing the University’s risk.  Where these expenses can be postponed without damaging the science, please attempt to do that.

On the proposal side of the house, you should know that - even if the posted guidelines seem to require diversity plans - they are no longer required or allowed.  Also, review panels have been paused until after February 10.  We are still treating posted proposal deadlines as firm -even though we know that proposals submitted in the next month or two will likely not be reviewed as quickly as they have been in the past.  And yes, we are also aware that the word “quickly” was slightly misused there.  

Where we have information pertinent to a particular PI, we will be contacting you directly.  And, of course, you should also feel free to reach out to us.  Use one of these email addresses and we will respond to you as soon as possible:
[email protected]
[email protected]

This e-space will be updated in real time as changes occur.  

CAYUSE SP, IRB HAVE A NEW URL
Cayuse SP (proposal preparation) and IRB have moved to the Cayuse integrated platform.  The new URL is:  https://oakland.app.cayuse.com.  Cayuse Fund Manager (post-award grant management) and Cayuse for IACUC/IBC can still be accessed with old URLs.  Links and more information are on the Cayuse Research Suite page.  Please contact our office if you have any issues.

SEED FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OU FACULTY -- the Research Office is making funding available for small grants to OU faculty for three programs: 1) International Research Experiences for Students, 2) Professor Smith Goes to Washington, 3) UN Sustainable Development Goals Collaboration.  Submission is through InfoReady; deadline is Feb 12, 2024.

INFORMAL OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY TO TALK TO THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH:  Coffee with Dave weekly drop in hours