Programs of Excellence Funding at the University of Nebraska at Kearney
Compiled by Finnie A. Murray
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Life
March 31, 2006
At UNK, the Programs of Excellence (POE) program has been extremely beneficial in building strength and productivity in some of our most successful academic programs. The Program at UNK has evolved over the years in which it has been in existence, as campus and programmatic needs have changed during that time. In FY03 and FY04, a substantial portion of the POE funds were allocated for the use of select priority programs at the discretion of deans and department chairs. That practice was particularly useful and beneficial at that time, in that it allowed application of resources where the people closest to the priority programs saw the opportunity for greatest positive impact. However, budget cuts applied during FY03 and FY04 had a negative effect on all programs at UNK, including those designated as Programs of Excellence. These effects have made it difficult to hire new faculty for some of our priority programs, and we have requested some new POE funds and reallocated POE funds to address these needs. In addition, a deepening commitment on the part of all of our priority programs to undergraduate/faculty research has been addressed by application of new POE money and by reallocation from discretionary uses. Finally, in light of the high importance of teacher education programs to the state and to UNK, we have progressively allocated POE funds to enhancement of our teacher renewal and network of partner schools programs in support of our teacher education programs. All three of these changes in emphasis began in FY04, but were progressively strengthened in both FY05 and FY06.
The report of our application of POE funds for FY06 follows.
A. Title of the Project: Biology Faculty – Distance Education. $45,902 (below)
B. Department Excellence Discretionary Expenditures. $123,000
C. Equipment for Priority Programs. $87,690
D. Exercise Science: Human Performance Lab Coordinator. $25,000
E. Faculty (new) Salary Enhancements. $100,000
F. Graduate Assistant Stipends. $57,400
G. Multimedia/Visual Design, including Student Facutly Collabortive Research. $118.810
H. Sponsored Programs Office Assistant Director. $37,500
I. Social Work Faculty. $40,265
J. Manangement Faculty/grant writer for College of Business and Technology. $50,454
K. Undergraduate Research--Student Faculty Collaborative Reserach. $386,710
- Title of the Project: Biology Faculty – Distance Education. $45,902
(See Section K.3. Department of Biology Undergraduate Research – Student Faculty Collaborative Research and Distance Education)