Organized Research Unit (ORU) Procedures

To establish an ORU, the faculty members concerned submit a proposal stating the proposed unit’s goals and objectives. The proposal should:

• Describe what value and capabilities will be added by the new unit.
• Explain why they cannot be achieved within the existing campus structure.
• Make clear how the ORU will be greater than the sum of its parts, for example by:
  • Fostering new intellectual collaborations.
  • Stimulating new sources of funding.
  • Furthering innovative and original research. 
  • Performing service and outreach to the public. 
• Contain the following information:
  • Experience of the core faculty in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research collaborations.
  • Research plan for the first year of operation and projections for the five years following.
  • Budget estimates for the first year of operation, projections for the five years following, and anticipated sources of funding.
  • Names of faculty members who have agreed in writing to participate in the unit’s activities.
  • Projections of numbers of faculty members and students, professional research appointees, and other personnel for the specified periods.
  • Statement about immediate space needs and how they will be met for the first year and realistic projections of future space needs.
  • Statement of other resource needs, such as capital equipment and library resources, and how they will be met for the first year, and realistic projections of future resource needs.
  • Statement about anticipated benefits of the proposed unit to the teaching programs of the participating faculty members’ departments.
  • Statement specifying the appropriate administrative unit’s commitment of funds, space, and other resources necessary for the successful operation of the proposed ORU. Actual or potential availability of extramural funds shall not serve as the sole basis for proposing, approving, or continuing an ORU.
• List similar units that exist elsewhere.
• Describe the relation of the proposed unit to similar units at other campuses of the University of California.
• Describe the contributions to the field that the proposed unit may be anticipated to make that are not made by existing units.

The proposal is submitted for review via any dean directly affected by the proposed unit’s personnel, space, and equipment demands to the vice chancellor for research (VCR), who seeks the advice of the appropriate divisional Academic Senate committees. In cases of disagreement about whether to establish an ORU, the VCR consults with the chair of the Academic Senate, but the chancellor retains final authority for the decision to approve establishment of a new ORU. Establishment of an ORU must carry with it a commitment of space and funding adequate to the mission of the unit.

A standing Advisory Committee is appointed by the reviewer. The charge to the committee and its functions, membership, and reporting requirements are determined by the appointing officer but should include active participation in the planning and evaluation of the ORU’s programs and activities. It will meet regularly and participate actively in setting the unit’s goals and in critically evaluating its effectiveness on a continuing basis. Specifically, the Advisory Committee provides counsel to the director on all matters pertaining to the unit, including budgetary matters and personnel.

Appointing a director

The director of an ORU is appointed by the chancellor or the VCR, who will consult with the Committee on Research on an appropriate nomination procedure. The founding director of an ORU may be specified in the proposal to establish the ORU. When the appointment of a new director is for an existing unit, the Advisory Committee should be solicited for nominations.

Reviewing a director

The effectiveness of each director is reviewed near the end of an initial five-year term, or earlier, as appropriate; when possible, the director is reviewed as part of the unit’s quinquennial review. If the unit is to be continued, the decision whether to continue the appointment of the director is made by the chancellor or the VCR. Directorships of ORUs are limited to ten years of continuous tenure in all but extraordinary circumstances.

Periodic reviews of ORUs are necessary to ensure that the research being conducted under the units’ auspices is of the highest possible quality and that campus resources are being allocated wisely and in line with campus priorities. For details, see ORU Review Process.

The director of the ORU will prepare a proposal describing the rationale for requesting a new name for the unit. The request for a new name usually reflects new directions in the interdisciplinary research sponsored by the unit, the expansion or addition of new knowledge or fields of research to the unit’s mission, or the institutionalization of new methodologies of study. After review by the Academic Senate and appropriate campus administrators, the chancellor needs to approve the name change of the ORU.

At the end of each academic year, each ORU should submit a report to the appropriate dean and the VCR. The chair of the advisory committee should be consulted in the preparation of the report. The report will be due October 15 and will be based upon the previous fiscal year.

The report should contain the following:

• Description of the unit’s progress towards:
  • Mission and goals, both research and education goals
  • Recommendations agreed upon following the previous external review
• Challenges the unit has faced, anticipated challenges and potential opportunities
• Personnel update including the number of each
  • Faculty (including number from each represented academic department)
  • Postdocs
  • Graduate student researchers
  • Undergraduate student research assistants
  • Numbers and FTE of professional, technical, administrative, and clerical personnel employed
• Sponsored or supported ORU visitors – number and name of home institution
• Facilities narrative: any changes or updates from previous review or report?
• Highlights from publications

All ORUs must establish a rationale for continuance, in terms of scholarly or scientific merit and campus priorities, after fifteen years and at every following review. These are called “sunset reviews.”

This information is based on Administrative Policies and Procedures Concerning Organized Research Units, with changes appropriate to UC Santa Cruz.

The recommendation for disestablishing an ORU may follow a five-year review of the unit or other process of review established by the VCR. After such campus review the chancellor approves the request for disestablishment.

The phase-out period for an ORU which is to be disestablished should be sufficient to permit an orderly termination or transfer of contractual obligations. Normally, the phase-out period should be at most one full year after the end of the academic year in which the decision is made to disestablish the unit.