Research and Scholarly Activity
Life University is dedicated to creating an environment and providing services that support research, scholarship and innovation across all departments, disciplines and program offerings at the institution. These activities are centrally coordinated through the Office of Sponsored Research & Scholarly Activity (OSRSA), an administrative unit reporting to the Chief Academic Officer and managed by a Director who works in consultation with a nine-member, cross-representational Research Advisory Council.
OSRSA formulates policies, reviews and approves protocols, administers programs, compiles data, and provides pre- and post-award support to faculty, students and staff to advance the university’s research agenda, as well as departmental priorities and individual plans for growth. Specific areas of responsibility include.
Pre-award. OSRSA advocates for and assists faculty in conceptualizing and developing their plan for research and scholarly activity, helps with grant proposal and budget preparation, organizes workshops, and, as applicable, collaborates with University Advancement to identify and procure external funding. All applications for external research-related funding (grant proposals and contract bids) must be initiated in OSRSA, which will then work with faculty to facilitate the administrative review, routing, approval, and submission process.
Post-Award. If a proposal results in the intent to award, OSRSA will negotiate a final agreement with the sponsor. Once funded, OSRSA will work with faculty or staff investigator or other senior project personnel to navigate other units on campus to administer the funding in compliance with university policies and procedures, Federal and state regulations (as applicable), and sponsor terms and conditions.
Research Protocol/Compliance/IRB. The University is committed to ensuring the ethical conduct of research and adheres to protocol established by the National Institutes of Health in this regard. All research involving human subjects – whether externally funded or not – must acquire and sustain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval throughout the life of the project. This also includes student-led research projects. The IRB is housed in and staffed by OSRSA and is chaired by a Life University faculty member.
Technology Transfer/Intellectual Property. The university encourages faculty, staff and students to protect intellectual and other property resulting from their research and scholarly activities which is reasonably likely to have commercial value. OSRSA serves as the first-point-of-contact for such reporting and works in collaboration with the Research Advisory Council to make recommendations regarding the allocation of rights and equities in the property based on published policies. These recommendations are then forwarded to the Executive Vice President for Finance who makes a final decision of whether to pursue development.
Funded Projects.This is one of OSRSA’s signature programs and provides internal grant awards to support small-scale faculty-, staff- and student-led research and scholarly projects. It might be funding to test and evaluate neuro-based techniques in concussive research, complete an extended literature review on cultural competency and chiropractic education, or support collaboration between a team of investigators in nutrition and biopsychology to explore how mindfulness might influence healthy eating habits. OSRSA issues a call for applications each quarter and proposals are peer-reviewed by the Research Advisory Council. Final award decisions are made by the Chief Academic Officer in consultation with the Director of OSRSA.
RISE Scholarships and Student Travel. LIFE U recognizes that students must be introduced to and supported to engage in research and related activities early and throughout their matriculation at the university. This activity is critical to producing the next generation of researchers and thought leaders. Toward that end, RISE (Research, Innovation, Service and Education) scholarships provide opportunities for full-time equivalent students to compete for scholarship funding while working under the mentorship of a LIFE U faculty or staff advisor on research or other evidence-based education, service, entrepreneurial or creative project. Scholarship slots are equally divided between the College of Chiropractic and the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies. Pending satisfactory progress, scholarships are renewable each quarter and recipients have the funds – $2250 – applied toward their tuition. Students can also compete for funding – up to 80% of registration, travel, lodging and per diem costs – to present their work at conferences and other pre-professional gatherings. All applications are reviewed by the Research Advisory Council, with final award decisions made by the Chief Academic Officer in consultation with the Director of OSRSA.
Research and Scholarly Activity Awards. This bi-annual program advances LIFE’s ongoing commitment to developing, acknowledging and rewarding excellence in the broad range of research and scholarship being carried out on campus and in collaboration with other investigators locally, nationally and in other countries. Administered in collaboration with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), the Research & Scholarly Activity Awards program is open to faculty and staff at all ranks and from all departments and programs. Calls for applications are made twice annually, and projects being considered must have been published or presented no more than six months prior to submitting the application. Applications are peer-reviewed by the Faculty Development Committee and ranked as A-Level, B-Level or C-Level based on degree of quality, degree of effort, timeliness of effort and importance to the mission of Life University. Final award decisions are made by the Chief Academic Officer in consultation with the Director of OSRSA and Director of CETL. Awards can range from $250 to $1,500.
Doctor of Chiropractic (Research Track)
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