Call for white papers on proposed Organized Research Units (ORUs)

Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce the release of a call for proposals to establish new Organized Research Units (ORUs) at UC Irvine.  This opportunity is open to all groups of faculty.  It is anticipated that the faculty lead for the proposal should be a tenured faculty member. 

Because the full proposal and subsequent review process is extensive (including Academic Senate review), a preliminary white paper review process will be utilized to select three to four top candidates for full proposal submission.  Those that are selected may then request up to $15,000 in support of their ORU proposal preparation costs.  Budget requests for proposal preparation should include the amount requested and a description of costs. 

White papers should include the following elements:

  1. A description of the proposed ORU (no more than 2 pages).
    While not being overly proscriptive, it should be noted that ORUs are meant to foster interdisciplinary research that might not flourish in the conventional single school environment.  This issue should be addressed in the narrative.
  2. Attachments:
    1. A list of the faculty members who have agreed to become actively participating members of the proposed ORU, signed by each. 
    2. Letters of support from the involved Deans.

 It is anticipated that a couple of new ORUs will be established with a funding level of approximately $100,000 per year.  Guidelines for ORU proposal and review processes are otherwise unchanged.  For complete details and information, please see http://www.research.uci.edu/centers/guidelines_oru.htm.  All white papers are due by 5pm on Friday, October 14, 2011 and should be submitted electronically to or@research.uci.edu.  For questions or further information, please contact Director Jill Yonago Kay at jill.kay@research.uci.edu or 4-1410.

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