SIU President Randy Dunn says Paul Sarvela’s first few weeks as Chancellor on the Carbondale campus have brought changes to research funding – something he says was needed.
One of the changes returns financial authority to the grant recipient. That had been transferred to the Chancellor’s Office, but Dunn says giving spending decisions back to the people in charge of the grants makes sense.
“It gets to be very frustrating for researchers. This gives them, I think, some additional freedom and flexibility. Still within our procurement and purchasing guidelines, but to be able to move on those types of things to ensure that they fulfill the requirements of the grant.”
Further, more of the overhead spending included in the grants will now be given to the researchers, too. Former Chancellor Rita Cheng had moved to keep 40% of that funding in her office, but Sarvela has now returned that to a 30% level.
Dunn and Sarvela say they’re working to address concerns among faculty and staff. They say there are several projects in the works, and both are hopeful it’ll help move the Carbondale campus in the right direction.
Sarvela's appointment as Acting Chancellor was transferred to Interim Chancellor during the meeting in Springfield Thursday. The change is procedural - he was first appointed earlier this month during a special meeting.
