NOTE: On November 1, 2006, the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education was created at Stanford University. That office presently includes the management of the Stanford Graduate Fellowships, graduate diversity and other initiatives related to graduate education.

     The mission statement below reflects the transition of Graduate Policy to the VPGE office.

The goal of the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research is to support the research enterprise and graduate education of Stanford University. To that end, our mission is stated in the context of the following roles.

RESEARCH POLICY

The Vice Provost and Dean of Research is the University's senior officer for RESEARCH POLICY. In this capacity, the Dean and the staff of this office have the following responsibilities:

• recommendation and promulgation of new policy, and oversight of its implementation and exceptions to research policy
  
  
• representing Stanford to external R&D funding agencies and sister institutions throughout the world
  
  
• representing the faculty's broad research interests in interactions with the University's administration and Board of Trustees
  
  
• representing Stanford's interests in responding to external legislation and regulations that potentially affect the health of academic research
  
  
• promoting interest and proficiency in math, science, and engineering through Science Outreach to pre-collegiate students, their science teachers and the general public
  
  
• providing oversight and assurances to outside regulatory agencies of Stanford's compliance to academic research policies and regulations
  
  
• approval of appointments and salaries of the University's 700+ Academic Staff-Research members
  
  
• establishment, maintenance, and oversight of the Human Research Protection Program
  
  
• providing oversight to ten panels dealing with protecting the University from research risks (panels include human subjects, laboratory animals, radiation safety and biosafety)
  
  Both the Research Compliance Office, which manages the institution's Administrative Panels, and the Environmental Health and Safety Office, report to the Dean of Research.
  
  

In addition, the Dean makes research funds available to faculty throughout the University by way of the Research Facilitation Fund, the Research Contingency Fund, and the OTL Research Incentive Fund. The Office of Technology Licensing reports to the Dean of Research.

INDEPENDENT LABORATORIES, CENTERS AND INSTITUTES

As cognizant Dean for the INDEPENDENT LABORATORIES, CENTERS, AND INSTITUTES, the Dean of Research oversees the program scope, direction, and resources for the multi-disciplinary laboratories, centers, and institutes which report to the Dean because their faculty's research programs cross school lines. In this capacity, the Dean and staff approve the establishment, organizational and oversight structures of the laboratories, centers, and institutes, their operating budgets, gift opportunity requests and sponsored project proposals, facility improvements, and personnel actions.

ADVICE AND COUNSEL

As a University officer, the Dean acts as a senior advisor to the President and Provost in a broad array of academic issues beyond research.