| Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|
|
On Track |
September 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.
Progress Report: July – September 2026
The Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity priority has made significant progress in establishing the structure and resources needed to move the work forward. A university-wide steering committee of more than 30 faculty, staff, managers, and students has been assembled, with representation from across IUP. The committee’s work has been organized into three areas: Culture and Engagement, Barriers and Opportunities, and the Innovation Ecosystem. Leadership has been established for each area, and detailed work plans and timelines have been developed to guide progress and keep key deliverables on track. The teams have also assembled existing data, previous analyses, and other resources to inform their work. With this framework now in place, all three groups have begun advancing their priorities and working toward the next set of milestones.
| Focus Area | Progress This Quarter | Status |
|---|---|---|
| University-wide Structure | Steering committee of more than 30 faculty, staff, managers, and students established across IUP. | Complete |
| Three Priority Areas | Work organized around Culture and Engagement, Barriers and Opportunities, and the Innovation Ecosystem, with leadership established for each. | Complete |
| Work Plans and Resources | Detailed work plans, timelines, existing data, and previous analyses assembled to guide each area. | Complete |
| Baseline Measures | Initial data and existing measures are being gathered to establish benchmarks and guide future assessment across the three priority areas. | In Progress |
Next Quarter
- Collect baseline data for key performance indicators across all three priority areas.
- Begin an inventory and gap analysis of current research engagement strategies.
- Assess research-related systems and processes and begin external benchmarking.
- Identify external expertise to support IUP’s Research and Innovation Advisory Council.
Leadership Attention
Monitor Capacity and Engagement: Competing priorities and available time and resources may affect the pace and consistency of participation as the three areas move into more intensive work.
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.
Challenges and Risks
Team Members
- Hilliary Creely, chair
- Julie Ankrum
- Carrie Bishop
- Holly Branthoover
- Roger Briscoe
- Framarz Byramjee
- Koga Chilume
- Dana Driscoll
- Tracy Eisenhower
- Kelly Heider
- Danyelle Hoover
- Bethany Jackson
- Chris Koren
- Andrew Kuzneski
- Daniel Lee
- Sudipta Majumdar
- Benjamin Martin
- Sharon Massey
- Lindsey McNickle
- Dana Minser
- Luke Mortensen
- Lisa Newell
- Jeremy Risinger
- Jessica Stiles
- Christian Vaccaro
- Amanda Vresilovic
- Ethan Yingling