Kansas State University

From the president and provost: Appointment of F&A Distribution Task Force

Submitted by President Richard Myers and Provost Charles Taber

Dear Faculty and Staff, 

Research is core to our land-grant mission and the future of our university. Through our research, we impact our state, our nation, and the world. How we distribute Sponsored Research Overhead, or SRO, revenue, also known as F&A revenue, is critical to how we continue to advance research at Kansas State University.

Two weeks ago, we announced the formation of a Budget Review Panel subcommittee with the charge to research F&A distribution approaches at peer institutions, provide a set of possible options for F&A changes in distribution, and determine how that distribution fits with the new budget model. Our intent at that time was to also appoint a separate principal investigator/unit head stakeholder group to collaborate with the subcommittee.

After receiving feedback from the research community, we have determined it would be more effective to move forward by combining the two groups into a single F&A Distribution Task Force. The task force members are listed below. We thank them all for their willingness to advance this important work. 

• Peter Dorhout, co-chair, vice president for research. 
• Bonnie Rush, co-chair, dean, College of Veterinary Medicine. 
• Brad Behnke, professor of kinesiology, College of Health and Human Sciences.
• Susan Brown, university distinguished professor of biology, College of Arts and Sciences.
• Mandy Cole, director of the Administrative Support Center, Administration and Finance. 
• Timothy Dalton, professor and director, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet, College of Agriculture. 
• Michael Day, professor and head of animal science and industry department, College of Agriculture/KSRE. 
• Tanya González, professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences.
• Gregg Hadley, associate professor and director for Extension, College of Agriculture and KSRE.
• Dan Higgins, professor and head of chemistry department, College of Arts and Sciences. 
• Mo Hosni, Charles and Nona Frankenhoff chair in engineering, Carl R. Ice College of Engineering.
• Cindy Shuman, acting associate dean for research, College of Education.
• Rebecca Zecha, associate director, Budget Planning Office, ex officio. 

We also believe that it is important to take the time needed to thoroughly research and discuss F&A distribution options across our university community. For that reason, we are extending the timeline for this initiative from spring 2020 to December 2020, with implementation of changes, if any, to follow in fiscal year 2022. The task force will reach out in the coming weeks to begin engaging all the key stakeholders in this effort.  

We thank the members of this task force for their willingness to take on the complex issues of F&A distribution and how it fits within our budget modernization efforts. We look forward to the robust discussion we are sure this initiative will generate in the coming year. 

Sincerely, 

Richard B. Myers
President

Chuck Taber
Provost and executive vice president