March 4, 2024

Attendees: Mamta Singh, Agim Kukeli, Matthew Hoch, Alyse Jordan, and Jerry Lin

Not in attendance: Kurt Dyrhaug, Maryam Hamidi and Amy Smith

Meeting called to order at 1:14 PM, by Jerry Lin

1. Review and approval of February 2024 meeting minutes
   
   
   • Moved for first motion by Agim Kukeli
     
     
   • Moved for second motion by Mamta Singh
     
     
2. Discussion on Lamar University's internal grant policy and procedures
   
   
   • A draft internal grant policy has been initiated by ORSPA. The Research Council is asked
     to review the policy and provide additional input in the April 2024 meeting.
     
     
   • Conflict of Interest policy has been reviewed by the Research Council. Conflict of the
     training course is available for faculty/staff members through the CITI training platform.
     
     
3. Revision of IDC distribution procedures and automation in the Banner
   
   
   • Lamar University’s IDC rate has been approved by the US Department of Human Health
     and Services at 35% from FY24 through FY27. The current IDC policy has been revised for
     the Research Council to review. The revision of the IDC policy will be at a frequency of
     every 4 years, the same as the IDC negotiation cycle with the US DHHS.
     
     
   • IDC distribution will be automated in the Banner. The production process is currently
     ongoing. Further updates will be provided once the implementation is completed.
     
     
   • The Research Council is requested to review and approve the revised IDC policy.
     
     
   • Motion to approve Matthew Hoch
     
     
   • Second motion by Alyse Jordan
     
     
4. Review of Export Control form
   
   
   • Review the Export Control form and provide feedback by March 22nd. Discussion and
     approval will be conducted in the April 2024 meeting.
     
     
5. Update on meeting of AI tools and their use for academic purposes
   
   
   • A university committee was formed to provide future guidance on the use of AI tools.
     
     
   • On behalf of the Research Council, Dr. Lin provided the following recommendations to
     the university AI committee:
     
     
     1. Provide university-level guidance on the use of AI tools;
        
        
     2. Provide training resources for the use of AI tools; and
        
        
     3. Encourage faculty to develop courses for the use and understanding of mainstream AI
        tools for educational and research purposes.
        
        
6. Roundtable
   
   
   • The ORSPA Conflict of Interest/Commitment policy is currently being considered for a
     university-level implementation, most likely in Fall 2024. More details will be provided to
     the Research Council if additional changes are informed by the Provost’s Office.