Research Foundation of The City University of New York Annual Report 2002 researchfoundation cuny celebrating 40 years of service Research Foundation of The City University of New York Annual Report 2002 Contents 5 letter from the chairman and the president 6 year in review 8 board of directors and research foundation administration 9 board of directors biographies 14 grants officers 15 the city university of new york centers, institutes, and consortia 17 cuny sponsored program highlights 45 summary of award activity 55 2002 cuny awards 87 independent auditor’s report, june 30, 2002 and 2001 Letter from the Chairman and the President We are pleased to present the 2002 Annual Report of The Research Foundation of The City University of New York. An Annual Report is, among other things, a look into an organization’s rearview mirror. It devotes itself largely to informing the reader about where the enterprise has been and how it has used its resources to get there. For the Research Foundation, and the diverse community we serve, the year 2002 was certainly one of significant achievements—financially, programmatically, and organizationally. Placing the needs of our customers at the center of what we do continues to inform our policies and practices. Some of the more significant accomplishments of the past year are presented in the pages that follow. Yet, even as we review and recall those achievements from 2002, we look at 2003, when we mark a milestone in our history—the 40th anniversary of our founding. It was January 24, 1963, when the New York State Board of Regents granted the Absolute Charter (Number 8302) of The Research Foundation of The City University of New York, with the following purposes: a. To assist in developing and increasing the facilities of The City University of New York to provide more extensive educational opportunities and service to its constituent colleges, students, faculties, staffs and alumni, and to the general public, by making and encouraging gifts, grants, contributions and donations of real and personal property to or for the benefit of The City University of New York; b. To receive, hold and administer gifts or grants, and to act without profit as trustee of educational or charitable trusts of benefit to and in keeping with the educational purposes and objects of The City University of New York; and c. To finance the conduct of studies and research in any and all fields of intellectual inquiry of benefit to and in keeping with the educational purposes and objects of The City University of New York and/or its constituent colleges, and to enter into contractual relationships appropriate to the purposes of the Corporation. On July 1, 1970, the university assigned to the Foundation responsibility for administering all grants and contracts awarded to any unit in the university. And on October 20, 1983, the extant agreement between CUNY and the RF re-affirmed the relationship and once more delineated the Foundation’s exclusive responsibilities in the area of sponsored programs. In the 40 years that have passed since its creation, the Research Foundation has overseen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of activity on behalf of CUNY, as well as other public and private organizations. As the 1983 agree- ment states, “research, training and service activities are basic obligations of the University, the colleges and the faculty, and it is in the public interest that faculty be assisted in such endeavors,” and that, “research is a necessary activity for the maintenance of professional competence, and also serves the city, state, and nation by advancing the frontiers of knowledge in the academic disciplines.” The Research Foundation is proud of the role it has played during its first 40 years in helping CUNY advance its goals. Of course, as any good driver knows, although it is important to glance into the rearview mirror frequently, it is far more critical to focus on the road ahead. We therefore look forward with great anticipation to rounding the next curve and meeting tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities on behalf of The City University and our other public and private clients. If the past is truly prologue, then the best is yet to come. Matthew Goldstein Richard F. Rothbard Chairman of the Board President research foundation annual report 2002 5 Year in Review Welcome to the Fiscal Year 2002 Annual Report of The Research the RF account is closed. Programs may last for one year, others for Foundation of The City University of New York. It covers the period two or three, and occasionally some last for longer than five years. July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002. Within its pages the reader will While the RF administers hundreds of millions of dollars in awards find information on the varied activities that the Foundation sup- annually (a record $287,000,000 in 2002), it does not own these ports, accompanied by independently audited financial statements. funds, and it can expend these funds only for the purposes stated in the grant or contract and as directed by the PI or other authorized History and Purpose project staff. Funds from one project or purpose are not used to Chartered by the State of New York in 1963, the Research Foundation support a different project or purpose. (RF) is a private, not-for-profit educational corporation that engages in the post-award administration of private and governmental spon- In addition to providing a central repository for sponsored program sored programs1 at The City University of New York (CUNY). Activities funds, the RF performs a variety of administrative services, thereby include, but are not limited to, research in the natural and social enabling principal investigators to concentrate on carrying out sciences, training, curriculum planning, assessment, job placement, the purposes of the sponsored programs. These services are in the program evaluation, and software development. areas of payroll, fringe benefits, pension, accounting, purchasing, contracting, legal, patents and copyrights, human subject compli- The Foundation also provides, on a limited basis, direct administra- ance, insurance, construction, sponsor reporting, agency liaison, tive services to other organizations. An example is the September leasing, immigration, and investment. The RF also sponsors confer- 11th Fund, which recently selected the Research Foundation as its ences and seminars to educate PI’s and potential PI’s on a variety fiscal services provider for the dispersal of direct aid and job training of issues and to assist them in securing program support. funds for individuals who remain unemployed as a result of the attacks of September 11, 2001. By the time this program is operating During the most recent year, the Foundation: at full capacity, the Foundation anticipates issuing recurring • Employed 11,900 individuals payments to dozens of education and training service providers • Paid an average of 4,500 people in each bi-weekly pay period throughout New York and New Jersey, as well as to thousands of • Hired 3,000 replacement staff displaced workers. The overwhelming majority of staff work on CUNY’s nineteen cam- In addition to these activities, the Foundation also administers the puses and are funded from the individual grant or contract budgets. PSC/CUNY Research Awards. This program, which is funded under They are referred to as project staff and are found working mainly the collective bargaining agreement between the university and its in laboratories and classrooms under the direct supervision of the faculty union, provides financing for faculty members, particularly PI’s. About 130 staff members are employed full- and part-time at those in the junior ranks, to engage in, and become familiar with, Foundation headquarters, or Central Office. This last group consists research in the expectation that this in-house support will ultimately of individuals who perform the various administrative functions lead to external funding. listed above in support of the PI’s and their sponsored activities. Governance To fund Central Office operations, the RF depends upon a fee for Although it has been closely associated with CUNY throughout its services charged against the sponsored program budgets. All spon- 40 years, the Foundation is governed by its own Board of Directors, sored programs have direct costs, that is, the resources necessary issues its own independently audited annual financial statements, to achieve the program objectives. Most sponsors also allow an operates its own payroll system, manages a fringe benefits plan, overhead charge for the cost of the space, utilities and maintenance and purchases a wide variety of goods and services in accordance of the premises used to perform the programs at the colleges. These with its own rules and regulations. costs are usually calculated as a percentage of the direct costs. This overhead charge is known as the indirect cost or the facilities The Foundation was created because the distinctive environment and administrative rate (the term used by the federal government) of sponsored programs requires a separate entity not subject to and the amount permitted varies depending upon the sponsor. the restrictions that are imposed upon the operations of state agen- Funds remaining after paying for direct costs and the RF fee are cies, like CUNY. Maximum flexibility is needed to be responsive to available to help colleges support generally the academic and sponsor requirements and to address the short-term nature of spon- research enterprise. Other income that supports Foundation sored program funding. Furthermore, the employee base is a highly operations includes direct fees for contracted services, investment transient one, owing to the special nature of sponsored programs. income, and licensing fees. This environment presents significant employment and management challenges that the Foundation is uniquely qualified to address. The Foundation works closely with staff on the campuses, particular- ly the Grants Officers, who handle much of the pre-award activity Finances and Operations including working with faculty and others on proposal preparation The RF acts as a custodian for the funds that support sponsored and submission.