Please note: hereafter, the term "research" will be used comprehensively to include scholarship and creative activity, rather than interpreted narrowly as sponsored research.

This chapter draws primarily on the Goal 4 Committee Report [6.2B6], the Office of Research and the Graduate School Self-Study (see Appendix 6), and the Council of Graduate Schools Consultant Report [2.8F, hereafter called the Consultant Report] which constituted an external review of research administration and services. This chapter thus focuses broadly on overall research goals and accomplishments. For more detailed information about research programs in particular Colleges and Schools, please see Appendix 6, or the departmental self-studies [2.6] available in the Resource Room.

Patterns of Evidence

MTU will benefit the State of Michigan and society as a whole through a balance of quality education, theoretical and applied research, and public service...The University will seek to enrich and benefit society through its research activities and will assist the community, the state, and the nation in economic and cultural development. (University Mission)

MTU will be a nationally and internationally recognized leader in meeting challenges of the future through excellence in undergraduate and graduate education and research in sciences and engineering... [I]n research, we will focus especially on growth in interdisciplinary approaches in areas of established strength and future need. (University Vision)

Michigan Tech clearly defines its research purposes in its mission and vision statements, thereby demonstrating the importance of research to the vitality of a technological university and the instructional currency of its faculty. All colleges, most schools, and all research institutes affirm that research, scholarship, or creative activities are fundamental purposes.

The research mission of the University was officially recognized in the 1984 Michigan Governor’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which named Michigan Tech as one of the four research universities in Michigan. The University recently achieved Carnegie Doctoral II Status, and has fulfilled requirements for Doctoral I Status (see Table 5, Chapter 2). Our mission and vision explicitly designate research as an institutional purpose, and research is a clearly articulated purpose in several of the President’s ten expectations, published in the strategic plan [2.1D2], which state that the University should:

• be a model of research and teaching excellence;
• provide a strong research environment, thereby attracting high quality faculty and enhancing quality undergraduate and graduate education; and
• be a leader in promoting...creativity.

Institutional expectations for research, aligned with the University mission, are also articulated by the Board of Control, the Faculty Handbook [1.2A], departmental charters [3.4], and mission statements of the University’s three research institutes [2.6G1, 2.6G2, and 2.6F6]. The Board of Control Manual states that "research work by academic faculty is expected..." [1.1, section 19.3], and the Faculty Handbook [1.2A] states that "research is an important contributor to...university education and to the prosperity of the industries and the population of the State," and that encouraging, fostering, and conducting research is therefore "an indispensable function" of the University.

Faculty and research staff clearly understand the University’s purposes related to research, scholarship, and creative activities. Departmental, College, and School promotion and tenure guidelines provide specific and detailed expectations for research. For example, the College of Sciences and Arts guidelines clearly refer to faculty as "teacher/scholars" and mandates that "research accomplishments are evidenced by publications, grants, (invited) presentations, citations. In the absence of all four it is very difficult to claim research accomplishments..." [3.4]. Fine Arts has guidelines [3.4] which clearly articulate measures of artistic and creative accomplishments specific to music, theater, and arts. These expectations are explained during the interview process for prospective faculty by Deans and Department Chairs [6.2B6, Appendix A] and reinforced through measures incorporated into the merit adjustment, promotion, and tenure processes. The application for promotion and tenure (Form F, [1.5A2]) includes a section dedicated to research, creative, and scholarly activities.

It is also clearly understood that research is conducted for the common good and depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. The Board of Control fully supports academic freedom:

The Board of Control of Michigan Technological University is committed to maintain Michigan Technological University as an institution where both students and faculty are free to pursue scholarship in an open and creative environment. The rights of faculty members to undertake scholarly approaches to their disciplines in accordance with professional standards in the classroom, in the laboratory, and in publications are guaranteed... [1.1, Policy 16.2.2 and reprinted in 1.2A, section 1.7]

Our scholarly purposes are demonstrated to the public through faculty and staff publications, applied research, and involvement in public and private boards. Through national, college, and school advisory boards, the public is kept informed and involved about our research.

Thus, we believe that our purposes with respect to research, scholarship, and creative activity have been clearly and publicly stated and are consistent with the mission of a doctoral institution.

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