MSCHE/ACOE Self Study

 Develop and maintain the most productive basic and clinical research programs among schools and colleges of optometry  Establish a Center for Clinical Research  Provide resources to attract and retain outstanding research faculty  Enhance the PhD program in Vision Science (discussed in Section B of this Self-Study report)  Integrate the OD/MS Program in Vision Science with clinical research and the development of clinical faculty (discussed in Section B of this Self- Study report) The College recognizes that these goals, particularly the first, are very ambitious, especially given the difficult and uncertain financial conditions of the State of New York and the nation. Nonetheless, significant and continuing progress has been made over the past decade, and the College now ranks sixth in federal funding for research among the twenty schools and colleges of optometry, being surpassed only by programs situated on major research campuses. As described later in this section, the College has taken a leadership role in the recent establishment of the SUNY Eye Institute (SEI) that integrates the complementary strengths of the four SUNY medical universities (Upstate, Brooklyn, Buffalo and Stony Brook) with a goal of further strengthening the College’s research enterprise. Fundraising efforts described in Section F of this self-study report are expected to provide additional capital in support of the College’s research ambitions. Current research efforts generally fall into the following areas, which are

described in more detail in Appendix C-16:  Cell Biology and Ocular Pharmacology  Visual Optics  Visual Neurophysiology  Vision and Visual Perception Support for Research

The research program is overseen by a full-time associate dean for research and graduate studies, who reports directly to the vice president and dean for academic affairs. The associate dean is supported by one full-time and one half- time staff members. On-campus support for grants administration is provided by a grants administrator in the office of the vice president for administration and finance. External grant activity is managed through the Research Foundation (RF) of the State University of New York. Substantial College resources (exclusive of external grant funding) are devoted to the research program. Institutional salary support for research faculty was about $936,309 in 2009-10. 9 Over this same time frame, $237,500 was spent on

9 Over this same period of time, grants generated $897,554 in indirect costs and $342,997 in salary offset.

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