| Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|
|
In Progress |
August 2026 |
Overview
The major aims of this strategic priority are to strengthen IUP’s research profile and maintain its R2 research university designation while building a campus-wide culture of research, scholarship, and creative activity. This includes expanding opportunities for faculty, students, and staff to participate, encouraging greater collaboration, removing barriers, and improving the support and processes needed for continued growth.Our work focuses on three areas: building a culture of engagement, identifying barriers and opportunities, and strengthening IUP’s research translation readiness and innovation ecosystem to help ideas move from discovery and creation to application and impact
Accomplishment Summary
Progress to date includes refining and expanding the strategic priority into three key areas of focus. Committee membership has been identified, with additional volunteers welcome to participate. The team has also identified initial information and resources, milestones, and planned deliverables for each of the three areas.
Progress
Milestone Timelines
August 2026: Establish committee and identify starting information resources, milestones, and planned deliverables for each of the three project domains.
November 2026:
- Collect baseline data for key performance indicators for all three priority domains
- Culture and Engagement: Initiate an inventory and gap analysis of current engagement strategies for multiple constituencies (prospective students, current UG and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, industry partners)
- Barriers and Opportunities: Complete an inventory of IUP’s research-related systems and processes; engage external analysis of IUP’s systems, including benchmarking against peer and aspirational peer institutions
- Innovation Ecosystem: Identify external experts to serve on a Research and Innovation Advisory Council
February 2027:
- Culture and Engagement: Identify five to seven engagement opportunities to pilot this AY and collect data to measure effectiveness and sustainability
- Barriers and Opportunities: Identify five to seven priority improvements for action this AY and collect data to measure impact
- Innovation Ecosystem: Launch a pilot virtual technology transfer office to strengthen IUP’s research translation readiness
May 2027: Complete a Year 1 progress report and define recommendations to guide Year 2 and beyond
Priority in Action
U-SOAR is a 10-week summer program that offers selected undergraduate students, working with a faculty mentor, to engage in original, inquiry-based research, scholarship, or creative endeavors. Students also have the opportunity to attend professional development workshops and complete a number of enrichment programs related to research and career success. The 52 students selected for the 2026 Undergraduate Summer Opportunities for Applying Research presented their original research projects during the U-SOAR Research Symposium.