Shared Governance at Detroit Mercy: MFA Ad Hoc Committees

This Task Force is charged with the implementation of the MFA’s Evaluation of Faculty Teaching Report (2020) for the reform of course/instructor evaluations, use of such data in decision-making, and other teaching evaluation materials (peer observation, etc.).

Membership:

Yolonda Freeman-Hildreth

Heather Hill

Karen Lee

Karen McDonald Henning

Matt Mio (Chair)

Kathi Shepherd

Mike Verdusco

The Faculty Research Award committee adjudicates the Internal Research Fund created by the UDMPU contract to fund internal research proposals.

Membership:

School of Architecture and Community Development - Thomas Provost  (term expires 2026)*

College of Business Administration - Staci Kenno (term expires 2026)* - Co-Chair

College of Engineering and Science - Klaus Friedrich (term expires 2027)

College of Health Professions - Ashlee Barnes (term expires 2026)

College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences - Lee Eshelman (term expires 2027) - Co-Chair

Libraries - Jill Spreitzer (term expires 2027)

MFA Rep - Cindy Gillham (term expires 2025)

UDMPU Representative - Diane Robinson-Dunn (term expires 2026)*

Administrative Representative - Ann Serra, Director, OSPRA (term unlimited)

1. Can I have an extension to the deadline for spending award money?
   1. No - The contract, Article 11.7, calls for the money to be spent by June 30th. The language is pretty strong: “All grant funds must be used by June 30th of the year following the award of the grant.”

2. Am I able to add a secondary project director onto the project?  If yes, what would be the procedure to make that change?
   1. Yes. The secondary / co-director must also be UDMPU.
   2. Inform the FRA Chair/s and cc Cate Caldwell so a note can be added to the file.  Add the additional director to the progress report.

3. Can I hire a Detroit Mercy salaried employee (staff or faculty member) as a research assistant?
   1. No. Personnel receiving a salary from the University are ineligible to receive monetary compensation from Faculty Research Awards.

4. I did not use all of my salary money, can I use this money to buy equipment or supplies instead?
   1. Yes, you can reallocate funds from salary to supplies and/or equipment. In order to request a change of budget on a current IRF grant, grantees will need to submit a one-page letter including the specific budget items to be revised (where originally allocated and where re-allocated) and a rationale for doing so. Letters should be sent to the FRA email account (fra@udmercy.edu), copying the co-chairs. This is only applicable to transfers between line items, not for changes within a line item (for instance, different materials/supplies than anticipated).

5. I have money left. Can I use it for travel?
   1. Funds from 11.7 of the UDMPU contract can only be used for travel if the travel is needed for data collection.  If the travel is for dissemination, then you should use your 11.6 funds.
      1. In order to request a change of budget on a current IRF grant, grantees will need to submit a one-page letter including the specific budget items to be revised (where originally allocated and where re-allocated) and a rationale for doing so. Letters should be sent to the FRA email account (fra@udmercy.edu), copying the co-chairs. This is only applicable to transfers between line items, not for changes within a line item (for instance, different materials/supplies than anticipated).

6. I have money left. Can I use it for my students to present a paper/poster at a conference?
   1. No, these funds cannot be used for student travel.