Vice Chancellor for Research Robert Duncan manages the MU Research & Development Advisory Board.
The University of Missouri, established in 1839, is the oldest public research institution west of the Mississippi River. To help advance the University’s research partnerships with industry and government, the MU Research & Development Advisory Board was established three years ago. The mission of the board, led by Vice Chancellor for Research Robert Duncan, is to promote translational research from MU to the private sector, and to foster development opportunities that enhance the University’s missions of research, teaching, service and economic development.
“The wealth of original thinking and discovery found at our nation’s research institutions provide abundant returns to our national economy,” says Duncan. “In tough times we need more, not less, support for the scientists, scholars and students whose innovative thinking will play a crucial role in leading America’s return to prosperity.”
This year alone, MU has earned the following:
- Two competitive grants totaling more than $14 million from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, awarded to two research teams led by MU and Texas A&M University;
- Selection as one of four universities to receive a $3.4 million Translational Partnership Award from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation;
- More than $14 million in highly competitive National Institute of Health funding awarded to researchers at the Dalton Center for Cardiovascular Research;
- A $6.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to an MU scientist to lead a research team studying genes that control the movement of carbohydrates in corn;
- President Barack Obama selected MU Chancellor Brady J. Deaton to chair the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development; and
- The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of James Birchler, Curators’ Professor of Biological Sciences at MU, as a new member.
These are a just a few examples of how the MU Research & Development Board is working to expand MU’s research and communication infrastructure. The Board is jointly managed by Duncan and MU’s Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations. It consists of 67 members and includes several alumni, venture capitalists, directors of national laboratories, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and patent attorneys, including Cindy Brinkley, vice president of global human resources at General Motors, Rear Admiral Philip H. Cullom, director of Fleet Readiness Division with the U.S. Department of Navy, and Jim O’Neill, vice president and general manager of integrated logistics at Boeing. The Board meets annually and this year held its meeting in tandem with the Missouri Technology Expo 2011, a showcase of Missouri’s best and brightest discoveries, inventions and innovations.
“We strive to facilitate the ability of MU’s faculty, students and staff to engage in research, discovery, scholarship and innovation,” says Duncan. “We also aspire to create a research-centered academic environment by developing and articulating connections between MU’s research with our teaching and activities. By doing the first two objectives effectively, we aim to grow and financially sustain MU’s research enterprise and hence our economy.”
If you are interested in supporting education, innovation and interdisciplinary research at the University of Missouri, please contact Mark Thomas, executive director for advancement in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations, by email at thomasme@missouri.edu or by phone at 573-882-5144.
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