Provost’s office reports new research security policy, $1.5M in grants canceled this year

Vice Provost for Research David Butler reported to trustees on May 20 that a new university research security policy (4.07) and a consolidated research-security website are in place to satisfy a Tennessee law enacted earlier this year.

Butler said the law requires institutions to both comply with legal requirements and "promote a culture of competence," and to notify the state that the governing board is in compliance. He told trustees that the new policy consolidates prior research-security practices and information that had been scattered across university offices into a single website and a formal policy adopted in December.

When asked about the fiscal impact of federal actions reported elsewhere, Butler said MTSU has had 10 grants canceled this year — seven federal and three state — with a total contract value of about $1.5 million and roughly $600,000 remaining to be spent at the time of cancellation. "At present, we have had 10 grants canceled. Of those, 7 were federal, 3 were state. The total value of all of those grants is approximately 1,500,000.0. What was remaining left to be spent on those grants at time of cancellation was approximately $600,000," he said.

Butler also updated trustees on the university’s research foundation and intellectual-property efforts. He said one set of technologies around peptoids has been licensed to an outside company and that MTSU was invited to participate in Launch Tennessee’s commercialization support program, which received renewed state funding. Butler said the state awarded an additional $8 million to Launch Tennessee and that MTSU will be one of six institutions participating in the program’s second year to support commercialization staff capacity.

Trustees asked Butler to provide the list of 10 canceled grants for committee review; Butler agreed to supply that information.