By Jamie L. Freedman
Nearly $5 million will be allocated to top academic priorities this fiscal year thanks to the Innovation Task Force.
The university-wide initiative, now in its second year, is well on the way to reaching its $60 million target, with $17.5 million in recurring savings and revenue enhancements already identified toward the initiative’s goal. These funds will fuel a wide range of programs aimed at increasing academic and research excellence across GW.
The provost is currently consulting with deans throughout the university to determine their school’s leading funding priorities for the coming year. This fiscal year, $4.7 million has been allocated to ITF funds and budgeted for investment in the university’s top academic priorities. ITF investments are being made in research, additions to faculty, Columbian College advisers and the degree audit. That number will grow to $6.3 million in the budget year FY 2012.
The process for allocating ITF funds is multifaceted and complex, Dr. Lerman says. “I asked each of our deans to report their school’s highest priorities for the next school year, which has yielded a very long and expansive list of potential things to fund,” he told the GW Faculty Senate at its December meeting. “Our intent is to reinvest the ITF funds in top priorities that represent long-term investments in the quality of GW’s academic mission—from new programs and faculty lines to improving the student academic experience.”
According to Dr. Lerman, the extensive list will be winnowed down utilizing a variety of criteria. Will implementing the proposed idea improve the quality of GW’s academic programs? Will it enhance the student experience? Will it help GW attract and maintain top faculty members and principal investigators and enhance research?
“We have an exciting list of ideas that I think will really contribute to the advancement of GW,” Dr. Lerman says. “We look forward to transforming many of these ideas into reality now and in coming years as additional ITF funds become available.”