The Office of Research and the Graduate School (hereafter referred to as The Graduate School) will be an advocate and driving force for Michigan Technological University in its goal of achieving and maintaining a nationally and internationally recognized leadership role in graduate education which is supported by vigorous research. We will prepare graduate students to embark on a life-long process of learning and exploring new knowledge. We will assist graduate students in their efforts to acquire the skills necessary to become leaders in society. We will provide opportunities for graduate education to qualified individuals from all racial, ethnic, and gender groups. We will stimulate research to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to enhance the application of knowledge for the betterment of society. We will safeguard the highest level of integrity in the conduct of research at Michigan Technological University.

Historical Overview

The Graduate School functions in four broadly categorized areas: graduate education, research services, intellectual properties, and international programs. Respectively, this places within The Graduate School the responsibility for the

• administration of all graduate degree programs;
• administration of all sponsored programs from proposal submission through consummation of grants and contracts (except gifts and endowments managed through the Office of Advancement and the administration of research accounting managed by the Chief Financial Officer);
• oversight of patents and licensing, trademarks, and technology transfer; and
• administration of all international exchange and cooperative programs.

The Graduate School's responsibility for these related but divergent areas has grown since 1991.

Michigan Technological University's Board of Control approved research fellows in 1925 and the University awarded its first graduate degrees in 1927; the first Ph.D.s were awarded in 1934. The University now offers the MS in 20 programs and the Ph.D. in 15. Seven new Ph.D. programs have been initiated since the last NCA accreditation review in 1988:

• Rhetoric and Technical Communication (1989);
• Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mining Engineering (1991);
• Engineering—Computer Science and Engineering and Geological Engineering (1995); and
• Mathematical Sciences (1996).

Graduate student enrollment increased steadily between 1988 and 1995, from 443 in 1988 to 691 in 1995, but experienced a drop to 653 in 1996. The number of degrees granted has increased from 151 Masters and 12 Ph.D.s in 1988 to 164 Masters and 52 Ph.D.s in 1996. The University attained the status of Carnegie Doctoral II in 1995 and surpassed the threshold requirement for Doctoral I in 1996.

Research has grown in concert with graduate programs since the last NCA accreditation review. External research funding has increased from $11.2 million in 1991 to $21.1 million in 1996; Federal research funding has likewise increased from $5.5 million in 1991 to $14.0 in 1996 (see Figure 1). The University established a multidisciplinary research center, Lake Superior Ecosystem Research (LaSER), in 1990, and has established a number of new cooperative exchange agreements with academic and research establishments abroad which have resulted in the exchange of MTU faculty and their counterparts abroad [2.6F4].

FIGURE 1. University Research Expenditures.

Source: Research Accounting

Two University research agencies, the Institute of Materials Processing [2.6G1] and the Keweenaw Research Center [2.6F6], are separate from the academic research activities of the University. They focus primarily on technology development and transfer and are oriented toward making Michigan and U.S. industry more competitive.

Strategic planning and development are guided by the University's Quantitative Context for Planning [2.1D2]. The goal for 1998 is that graduate enrollments will have increased to between 800 and 1000, half of whom will be doctoral students. By the year 2003, graduate enrollment will total 1200 to 1500, 60% of whom will be doctoral students. Given national trends in graduate-student enrollment and the drop, though small, in our own enrollment in 1996, a coherent, strongly support University commitment to its graduate programs, including marketing and recruiting packages, will be necessary to meet these goals. Research funding goals are for federally funded research to exceed $15 million annually by 1998, and $30 million by 2003.

Administrative Structure

The Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School is responsible for developing goals and strategic plans to enhance and strengthen the University's research and graduate programs. He is assisted by the Graduate Council and the Research Advisory Council, both of which support him in an advisory capacity. He works closely with the MTU Senate Committee on Research Integrity, the Coordinator of Conflict of Interest Policy and the Graduate Student Council (GSC). The University-based research centers and institutes report to him. The current Vice Provost and Dean was appointed in November, 1988, shortly after the last NCA accreditation was granted. He maintains interactions with relevant external establishments, having been elected Chair-Elect of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools in 1996; he will serve as its Chair in 1997.

In 1995, the Research Task Force was created by the President to conduct a study and make recommendations on an effective organizational structure to administer University research. The Task Force transmitted its report, Research at Michigan Technological University: New Culture, New Practices, New Organization, in March, 1996. The work of the task force was preceded by a research prospectus developed by the Vice Provost at the direction of the Board of Control. However, the Task Force recommendations for creating a new organizational structure were not accepted by the University Senate. Consequently, the concept and some elements of the recommendations are being studied for possible implementation in a different manner.

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