LitterISee wrote:

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To say that she brought in "grant" money of that amount is absurd. It's pork barrel. Everyone knows that. ...

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Are US Dept of Education grants not competitive?

CGW is right on with his comment.

A COB faculty member just finished up a NIH grant and is on the second go around for a new one. That person also serves on a standing committee for NIH and will be reviewing proposals again in June. From discussions with that person, I would agree that this is a "gold standard" process. The panels are made up of faculty from the top universities in the country and the rejection rate is quite high. I would agree that the administration does not place a high value on NIH grants. A contract to do nickel and dime consulting is of equal or more importance if it has a dollar in it he can use. It really is short sighted because from what I was told, the NIH grants carry a lot of overhead money with them. The fact is that SFT is extremely parochial and has very limited knowledge and experience about how top-level universities operate. He has never been anywhere but USM except to go off to get his doctorate. But then, I am merely stating what most faculty already know including most of those who are on his team. Because those who support him are talently challenged, they are in it for the money and power.

first time poster wrote:

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This is CORRUPTION at its finest.

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Dearie, Shelby has it down to an art form.

I know that there are some competitive grants that USM has...at least one major grant that I know of from the National Science Foundation in Polymer Science (I know because I helped to write it when I worked there). So, there are some competitive grants that USM gets...just not many from NIH (esp. since USM doesn't have a med school). That's not so unusual for a univ. without a med school, acutally.

And, since NIH money is being cut this year, it's not the lucrative cash cow that it once was.

Truth

Qwerty, you are right about the NIH budget as it relates to all other federal agencies, historically. But NIH is facing a cut across the board (can't remember the exact amount...is it 5% or more?), and this will impact so many. It will be interesting to see what happens with regard to NIH funding over the next 5 years or so.

Even with the cut in NIH funding, qwerty rightly points out that its budget dwarfs other federal agencies in a big way. Other disciplines besides medicine can get NIH money, but having a medical school makes you that much more likely to receive it. While USM researchers in Nursing and Psychology (and some other disciplines) may have received NIH funding in the past, I'm wondering what the likelihood will be for them to receive it in the future (due to cuts in Psych and Nursing plus the NIH funding cut). Time will tell...

Truth

One of my colleagues in COAL suggested we all change our names to "Thames" to get raises this year.

Amy Young

Thames does have something on AKL.  Miss DT has hinted at that for years. What he has on Uncle Aubrey is unknown to many of us. Don't rule out the Lucas return to presidential royalty though. SFT has been trying his best to figure out how Miss DT can move up the ladder. If she can't by title, then he'll be sure she does by salary. Looked at the vita - it's full of holes. Why can't she just tell the truth?