Welcome! This is the first issue of CLAS Research Resource, a new monthly, internal College of Liberal Art and Sciences newsletter focusing on our college's research mission and infrastructure.

One of my major goals as our new Associate Dean for Research is to increase the flow of information between the Dean’s Office and our researchers, scholars, and artists. The CLAS Research Resource will provide you with updates on policies, upcoming grant opportunities and deadlines, research-relevant information on facilities and technology services, opportunities and activities in the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, and a roundup of our scholars’ latest and greatest accomplishments. I hope that you’ll find it both useful and inspiring!

As part of my onboarding process, I am scheduling meetings with every department’s DEO along with a couple of their top researchers, scholars, or artists. My goal in these meetings is to learn: 1) How each department defines its research mission, including its metrics for success; 2) What faculty feel is an aspirational peer department at another institution, and what that program is doing better than we; and 3) How I, and the college generally, can be most helpful to the department's research and scholarly activity going forward. I would also like to tour departmental spaces to learn how their facilities impact their research mission. DEOs and ASG, please be on the lookout for invitations from Allison Bierman for these meetings. If you’d like to get on the schedule ASAP, drop her a line at allison-bierman@uiowa.edu.

As you know, the past six months have brought unprecedented disruption, anxiety, and (in many things) frustration. Since I began this position July 1, I have been working continually with our leadership team to address many urgent facilities, IT, and policy issues centered around research ramp-up and preparation for fall instruction. My hope is to shift to longer-term strategy this fall, working with you to build our college’s research profile. We know that budgetary challenges, travel restrictions, and health and safety concerns will continue to impinge upon our research mission for the near future. Nevertheless, I am confident that, together, we can think creatively and find ways to enhance the success of our college’s many brilliant writers, scholars, artists, and scientists. I am here to help; don’t hesitate to reach out anytime at joshua-weiner@uiowa.edu.

Joshua Weiner
Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure
Associate Director, Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Professor, Department of Biology