Growing and supporting high-quality faculty and staff is the key enabler for achieving our vision. Competition for top talent is fierce, and we must intensify our efforts to recruit and retain outstanding people and support their long-term career development.
Note: Items marked with an asterisk (*) indicate new updates and accomplishments added in Fall 2025.
1.1 Retain and Recruit high-quality faculty and staff
- Created a department-level career ladder program in collaboration with the Council of Associate Deans for Research (CADR) to help increase staff retention within departments.
- Streamlined processes for VPR startup support.
- Launched searches for high-level faculty who will be cross-college hires.
- Recruited six new national academy members to FSU.
- Added a new National Academy member in Nursing, bringing the total NASEM members to 13.
- Added four new high profile senior faculty members in the health sciences.
- Hired a Research Integrity Analyst for conflicts of interest and research misconduct.
- Added eight cross-disciplinary faculty as part of the Quantum Science initiative
1.2 Increase Research Support
- Increased and standardized SRAD returns to 30% to colleges and departments for sponsored funding.
- Reorganized the Office of Research as a first step to promote increased assistance with proposals and other research administration activities.
- Established a task force to assess FSU's health research services infrastructure and recommend improvements to better serve health and translational research studies across FSU.
- Launched an online one-stop "hub" for research resources and support.
- Increased targeted support for large, center-level proposals.
- Recruited a Director, Health Research Connections, to assist in building a robust health research infrastructure. (update from mid year effort).
- Created a task force to investigate platforms and technology to streamline faculty support requests and connection to support services in the health sciences.
- Increased research security support.
- Added a credentialed veterinary technician to increase support to veterinary care program.
- Reformatted the Laboratory Animal Resources website to offer researchers a quick and easy way to seek assistance.
- Hired a regulatory support specialist to aid in preparing IRB submissions and protocol development.
- Stood up a contingency funding program for those impacted by grant terminations.
- Worked closely with faculty affected with award terminations to navigate next steps—such as closeouts and appeals—while providing legal support for federal terminations and risk management aligned with evolving federal policies and guidance documents.
- Provided four workshops to help navigate the new NSF guidance.
- Initiated technical support services provided by LAR veterinary personnel.
- Provided bridge support for LAR per diems.
- Added new IRB members to provide a more specialized expertise related to health research.
- Dedicated a position to assist researchers in connecting with companies for SBIR's/STTR's.
- Launched an FSU Health Research Connections Switchboard website and Research Request Portal.
- Expanded phlebotomy services within the Clinical Research and Trials Unit (CRTU).
- Recruited an experienced intellectual property and compliance contract expert to increase turn around on industry agreements.
- Onboarded an additional Industry Liaison to increase services for industry grants and contracts.
- Funded five faculty IGNITE Seed Translational Research Grants to increase research translation funded by NSF ART grant.
- Created a Federal Updates webpage to quickly communicate policy changes to faculty.
1.3 Support broad perspectives and inputs
- VPR held multiple listening sessions with faculty groups centered around emerging topics – Submit ideas to aspire@fsu.edu for areas where central administration needs to hear broader feedback!
- Provided research mentoring workshops to 268 faculty and students in 2024.
- Presented NSF-funded Promotion Tenure, Innovation & Entrepeneurship program to promote the inclusion of entrepreneurship and innovation into tenure and promotion criteria.
1.4 Establish Incentives that encourage creativity and innovation.
- Expanded the 5% summer salary program to include all researchers who are 100% funded by grants and contracts.
- Facilitated an Amazon Web Services deal to decrease costs of their services for faculty.
- Provided 172 internal funding awards to faculty through CRC programs in 2024 totaling $5,242,668.
- Set up an ETHOS award that supports research compliance, integrity and ethics.
1.5 Invest in Research Assistants and Post-docs
- Broadened Collaborative Collision activities to include research assistants, post-docs, and graduate students in Spring 2024.
- Invited post docs to participate in the Summer 2024 Research Mentor Academy.
- Invested in post-doc training fellowships in areas that align with ASPIRE.
- Created a Graduate Student Resource Center (Provost).
- Initiated a travel award program to increase the ability of graduate students to attend and present at conferences.
- Several research administrators served as judges during this year's National Postdoctoral Appreciation Event.
- Supported 13 Summer Research Fellowships in the areas of Health & Quantum Sciences
