Big, hairy audacious goals can take many different forms.

Take, for instance, the one that Chancellor James Moeser put forth in his State of the University address last year when he called for Carolina to generate $1 billion of sponsored research by the year 2015. Such a big, hairy, audacious goal, he said, was “appropriate for a university aspiring to be the leading public university.”

UNC researchers brought in nearly $600 million in research contracts and grants in fiscal 2006. In the School of Pharmacy, where the researcher shown above works, faculty have increased research funding more than 400 percent in the past three years.

At the University Board of Trustees meeting last week, Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development, set out to explain in detail where the University now stands in meeting that goal.

He began with a picture of a yellow kitten staring into a mirror — with the image staring back at him as a grown lion in full mane.

That kitten, much like the University’s goal, has all the energy, all the desire, all the ambition to grow up to be a lion. But, he said, “We have to feed that kitten and nurture that kitten so it can grow up to be king of the jungle.”

Part of the problem, to extend the analogy, is the need for a better, balanced diet.

For years, Carolina scientists have feasted on federal grants and contracts, especially from the National Institute of Health, while research backed by private sources has lagged behind that done at competing institutions, including Duke and N.C. State.

There are many reasons for that, good and bad, Waldrop said.

N.C. State, with its Centennial Campus, has ample space on which to grow private partnerships. In 2002, Duke ranked first in the country in the amount of corporate research expenditures and N.C. State ranked 15th. Carolina, in contrast, ranked 90th.

That is why moving forward with Carolina North, the planned mixed-use satellite campus, as aggressively as possible, is so critical, Waldrop said. He cited the need for incubator space to help transfer ideas originating from faculty research into spin-off companies and commercial products.

More money is only part of the answer, Waldrop said. The other key will be to interconnect the resources and expertise that are already here. One area of collaboration that shows great promise is in advances in human health.

One critical need is seed funding to test ideas for new areas of research and funding for bringing together interdisciplinary teams.

“We need to start looking at the campus as a whole and what areas we need to advance,” Waldrop said. “We can’t go department by department by department. The only way to move forward is with these interdisciplinary teams of faculty, staff and students focused in areas of research where we know we can excel.”

The University has always had a wonderful faculty in the physical sciences. What they need, more than ever, is greater support to pursue the kind of collaborative work such as the kind that Bob Blouin, dean of the School of Pharmacy, has encouraged during his tenure, Waldrop said.

In 2006, the pharmacy school received
$8.2 million NIH contracts and grants, ranking it 8th in the country, up from $5.8 million and a 14th ranking the year before.

Even more impressive was that the school’s overall research funding grew by more than 400 percent over three years.

Waldrop pointed to the work of pharmacy professor Howard McLeod, whose research with genetic tools at the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy aims to find ways of predicting the outcome of a drug treatment. The research requires advanced genetic, molecular and computational studies that involve basic science and translational research, Waldrop said.

Waldrop joined with Moeser in crediting Blouin’s aggressive leadership as a major reason why pharmacy research has flourished.

But another factor has been more space for research to take place. The opening of Kerr Hall and a nearly completed renovation of Beard Hall has made possible the hiring of eight new research-oriented faculty since 2005, and another 70,000 square feet of research space is under construction for the school in a genetic medicine building that partners with the School of Medicine.

State-of-the-art facilities matter as much as pay and benefits when attracting and retaining the best faculty, Waldrop said. While the state has been generous with its funding, critical needs remain.

New buildings are needed for the Biomedical Research Imaging Center and nanomedicine program, and for the Rensaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), which has already outgrown leased office space off campus. Several other key research buildings are overdue for renovations, too.

In other action, the board:

 Reviewed a new policy set to go into effect July 1 that for the first time would have the University conduct a criminal conviction check for prospective faculty appointees.

The check will only be used for evaluating the prospective faculty appointee for employment; current faculty would not be affected. University officials who process information will ensure that it is held confidentially and securely and that it be disclosed only to University or state officials who have a direct role in acting on the information. 

The Office of University Counsel would be involved, when appropriate, to assess the relationship of the criminal conviction to the appointment and the future likelihood of illegal activity by the prospective faculty appointee as might be indicated by a pattern of criminal convictions.

 Approved minor changes to the parking ordinance, including the levying of parking fine and a $10 fee to any unauthorized person who enters a controlled-access zone with a gate that can be opened or closed by a gate card, access code or remote control.

The violation would occur when a driver enters the zone without paying the appropriate fee or displaying a valid permit. Proceeds from the fees will be used to replace damaged access mechanisms.

 Approved the purchase of a 2.29-acre tract at the corner of Wilson Street and West Cameron Avenue at a cost of $2.6 million from James T. Dobbins. The tract is in the Cameron-McCauley Historic District and the University’s proposed uses will require review by the Town of Chapel Hill’s Historic District Commission. UNC has no timetable to submit a use plan to the district or department.

 Celebrated reaching the $2 billion fund-raising goal earlier this month by inviting development officers to the meeting to thank them for their work. Matt Kupec, vice chancellor of University Advancement, also presented Trustee Paul Fulton, who co-chaired the campaign, with several light-hearted accolades and gifts.