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Goal 1: Contribute to the University's plan of making progress toward becoming a top 50 NSF public research and development university

Gap: The University is currently ranked 97th on this metric, which is largely driven by research expenditures.

Solution 1: Launch a COS multi-disciplinary task force to identify metrics and recommend activities that will mitigate gaps and contribute to the University's goal

• Use quantitative and qualitative data to define feasible objectives
• Make recommendations to each department on developing strategies to increase research activities, (e.g. increasing the number or size of proposals, the number of graduate research assistants, post-docs and research faculty)
• Identify formal mechanisms to support soft-money research faculty via bridge funding
• Make recommendations to the Dean on how to consistently award and retain highly active research faculty, who otherwise face offers from industry and other institutions
• Solicit ideas from each department on how to reduce faculty teaching loads and provide more staff support for proposal writing and award management
• Work with Sponsored Projects to populate a shared online resource with commonly requested proposal text (e.g. Facilities, demographic tables, link to recently funded award data, example proposals)

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• An increased number of faculty with grant funding
• An increased number of GRAs, undergraduates involved in research, research faculty and post-docs
• Increased retention of high research activity faculty

Solution 2: Develop strategic initiatives to target large funding opportunities

• Encourage collaborative efforts to capitalize on current COS expertise and support strategic/cluster faculty hires
• COS Associate Deans take on specific role to help identify large funding opportunities that could bring together faculty from different departments
• Create a COS Strategic and Interdisciplinary Directions Committee focused on turning the needs of sponsors into strategic college directions
• Develop conceptual designs for new research centers that address gaps in our current funding environment (new sponsors, direction change, unique collaborations)
• Work with the Government and Community Engagement Office to identify COS-specific opportunities suitable for Federal appropriations requests and provide training for faculty to better understand these opportunities

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Interdisciplinary research institutes addressing strategic initiatives
• Increased research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students
• Faculty better prepared to rapidly respond to funding opportunities

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Goal 2: Increase the impact of our research

Gap: Furthering our progress towards AAU membership, which reflects institutional reputation.

Solution 1: Enhance the quality, value and range of tenure-track faculty

• Increase new strategic tenure-track faculty hires to expand research capabilities
• Replace faculty members who have retired
• Create professional development opportunities focused on research excellence

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Attract and recruit new, top-tier academic faculty members from across the country

Solution 2: Support faculty efforts to publish high quality work

• Encourage faculty to publish in high profile and highly cited academic journals by creating a fund to assist with publication charges (e.g. to support high impact publications after grants have expired)

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• An increased number of scholarly works published in leading journals

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Goal 3: Foster an inclusive and diverse research culture

Gap: Many individual efforts, but less of a clear COS-level vision in an area where we could shine.

Solution 1: Identify barriers to participation and work to recruit and retain a diverse community of researchers

• Create a COS-wide Diversity Committee, charged with conducting a climate survey to generate a baseline understanding of major issues reported in the College and effectively target solutions
• Expand departmental faculty mentoring plans to address plans for professional development in relation to diversity and inclusion
• Have faculty and graduate students participate in recruitment events at high schools in historically marginalized communities
• Restore the Diversity Advocate (or similar position) to COS hiring committees
• Review procedures for awards and recognition to identify and address potential biases
• Offer workshops on creating code of conduct for laboratory groups or Safe and Inclusive Fieldwork (SAIF) plans

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Measurable improvements in the research climate as tracked by the regular survey
• An increased capacity to attract and recruit a diverse pool of faculty talent, as tracked via demographic data
• Greater faculty success with proposals that involve related criteria (e.g. NSF)

Solution 2: Provide support for the ongoing efforts of research-relevant affinity groups and campus units with expertise in these areas

• Work with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to identify alignments with their Strategic Action Plan
• Have COS representation at the Northern Nevada Diversity Summit
• Invite representatives from the First-Generation Student Center, PREP/TRIO programs, Veterans Services Office and other campus groups to join the COS Diversity Committee or to develop COS-themed workshops for faculty
• Expand support for affinity groups (e.g. SACNAS, oSTEM) and invite Discover Science speakers who interface with these groups or speak on topics relevant to diversity and STEM

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Greater alignment between campus-wide resources and equity issues that may be specific to COS research contexts
• Increased participation of historically marginalized groups in COS research labs, as tracked through undergraduate researchers, and graduate program demographics
• Measurable increases in a sense of belonging, as tracked by the regular climate survey
• Increased ability to attract and retain researchers from diverse backgrounds

Goal 1: Expand inclusive and accessible pathways for STEM education

Gap 1: Limited diversity in undergraduate and graduate STEM enrollment and need for expanded mentoring and career guidance.
Gap 2: Insufficient faculty development opportunities focused on inclusive, innovative teaching practices and little recognition more broadly for professional development efforts undertaken in relation to teaching.

Solution 1: Create a Learning Skills and Career Specialist position to oversee a student-to-student STEM mentoring program

• Increase targeted recruitment efforts to improve diverse and inclusive STEM enrollment
• Expand career guidance services to support underrepresented and international students
• Increase the number of Teaching Assistants in response to increased enrollment
• Enhanced training and support for effective teaching by teaching assistants and review current practices within the COS to identify a successful model to adopt college-wide (e.g. consider a full day of orientation)
• Develop a dedicated Canvas course for all COS undergraduates that proves resources and guidance for navigating their degree pathways

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Increase retention and graduation rates in STEM fields, especially among underrepresented and international students
• Achieve growth in mentoring participation through expanded student-to student support
• Build additional classroom and mentoring spaces to reduce class sizes and enhance engagement
• Increase TA participation and improve training for effective support of students in STEM courses
• Provide COS undergraduates with easy access to essential academic resources and guidance, leading to improved academic success and degree navigation

Solution 2: Increase the frequency of professional development teaching opportunities for faculty with focus on inclusion

• Grow professional development opportunities to help faculty adopt inclusive teaching practices
• Launch an annual “Teaching in the Sciences” conference to share and promote effective teaching methodologies
• Provide guidance regarding the value of professional development in annual evaluations and promotion decisions
• Coordinate with the Office of Advancements in Teaching Excellence

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Achieve growth in faculty participation in inclusive teaching workshops each year
• Foster a COS Community of Practice for inclusive STEM education
• Recognize and retain faculty committed to inclusive teaching practices

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Goal 2: Broaden course offerings and increase classroom space to support accessibility

Gap: Limited flexibility in course scheduling, limited classroom space, and high enrollment in bottleneck courses.

Solution 1: Increasing course offerings (fall, spring, and summer) that will enhance accessibility

• Establish a multi-disciplinary working group to gather quantitative and qualitative data to identify if there is a need for increasing course offerings that will enhance accessibility
• Based on the recommendations of the working group, adjust course offerings (e.g. increase summer and evening courses, increase synchronous and asynchronous online course availability, consider bottleneck courses and scheduling)
• Increase partnerships with University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) to develop and offer courses internationally

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Enroll more students in summer and evening classes
• Increase online enrollment through additional online offerings
• Provide flexible scheduling and location options to support a diverse and international student body
• Establish at least three new internationally offered courses in partnership with USAC

Solution 2: Increase classroom space, decrease class sizes, and increase access to learning materials and research experiences for students

• Increase classroom space and decrease class sizes in key STEM courses
• Develop open-source materials to lower textbook and course fees, enhancing accessibility
• Provide instructors with resources and assistance to develop open-source learning materials
• Encourage faculty to learn about and consider Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), e.g. via workshops or web resources
• Increase strategic teaching faculty hires to expand teachings capabilities

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Reduce class sizes by expanding classroom capacity
• Improve graduation rates by offering reduced-cost learning materials
• Attain faster and more efficient degree completion through smaller, interactive class environments
• Students with limited schedules can gain research experience during regular class hours

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Goal 3: Strengthen corporate partnerships to enhance career readiness and student support

Gap: Limited formal corporate partnerships to support internships, scholarships and student career options.

Solution 1: Develop a formalized corporate partnership program for COS partners

• Establish a structured corporate partnership program modeled on successful frameworks, tailored to the College of Science
• Identify strategic companies for partnerships, focusing on shared interests in STEM fields

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Secure new corporate partnerships, each offering internship or scholarship support
• Increase internship placements and job opportunities for students
• Facilitate direct engagement with corporate partners through college-hosted events, enhancing career readiness

Solution 2: Identify local corporations in scientific industries to approach about partnership opportunities and forge new relationships through strategic networking opportunities

• Expand targeted internship and career-readiness programs with a focus on international students
• Partner with local economic development organizations to connect students with regional employers

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Grow internship placements and student career opportunities
• Increase support for international students through career-readiness programs
• Provide dedicated classroom and event space for partnership activities, strengthening student-employer engagement

Goal 1: Advance research and teaching capacity by investing in resources

Gap 1: Limited infrastructure.
Gap 2: Aging facilities that may restrict innovation.

Solution 1: Improve and increase research and teaching facilities

• Form a COS Infrastructure Advisory Committee charged with assessing and prioritizing COS infrastructure projects
• Committee prepares a ROI report for various infrastructure investments, suitable for sharing with administrators and policymakers
• Modernize laboratories, computing resources and collaborative spaces to facilitate innovation
• Promote morale and collaboration by revisiting schemes for graduate student offices to promote clustering of students in the same program

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Address infrastructure funding requests with justifications for resource allocation
• Enhance research productivity and support faculty and student recruitment
• Reduce work order requests to facilities and the need for renovation resources in start-up packages
• Increase the number and scale of funding proposals, fostering broader collaborative opportunities

Solution 2: Invest in the institutional/programmatic infrastructure required for research and teaching excellence

• Plan new research and teaching centers that address gaps in our current portfolio and expand support for faculty and students engaged in interdisciplinary research

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Interdisciplinary programs will achieve financial and operational stability, resulting in enhanced scholarship quality and instructional excellence
• Increased student enrollment in interdisciplinary graduate programs and growth in external funding for collaborative teams

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Goal 2: Invest in our people and engage with our community

Gap 1: Limited resources for professional development.
Gap 2: Minimal alumni and community involvement in career support for students.

Solution 1: Increase the number of professional opportunities for growth and career development

• Expand and promote student jobs and internships in COS career programs
• Support faculty focusing on mentorship, leadership and science communication
• Streamline the process for staff to build professional skill sets
• Establish a fund that supports professional development outside of the University

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Students gain clarity on career paths and strengthen their job applications, with progress measurable through Nevada Career Studio
• Faculty will develop skills essential for student success, securing funding and engaging with the community, with outcomes measured through post-workshop evaluations
• Staff will experience increased promotion opportunities, with metrics tracked through University HR

Solution 2: Revamp or expand our efforts to connect with COS alumni and community partners

• Develop robust alumni engagement programs involving faculty, students and development staff
• Increase the number of community engagement events

Outcomes associated with Solution 2 include:

• Students will build valuable connections with alumni that enhance their employment opportunities
• Faculty will gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge and skills valued by employers
• Alumni contributions to the COS will grow, supporting continued advancement

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Goal 3: Recognize excellence among students, faculty and staff to boost recruitment and retention

Gap: Insufficient recognitions for contributions within COS.

Solution 1: Increase internal recognition of COS accomplishments

• Develop a consistent plan for retaining our high-performing faculty and staff
• Encourage and compensate faculty who design innovative courses, workshops and research programs

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Improved recruitment and retention of excellent faculty, staff and students will strengthen the COS
• Enhanced organizational efficiency will result from retaining skilled individuals who contribute to a sustained culture of excellence within COS

Goal 1: Enhance the College of Science’s local impact through collaboration with partners in education, policy and industry and expand the College’s presence as a campus leader in community outreach

Gap 1: Lack of connection with the Washoe County School District (WCSD) and northern Nevada community.
Gap 2: Untapped potential for collaboration with external policy and industry partners.
Gap 3: Insufficient institutional support for outreach efforts
Gap 4: Lack of resources for faculty workshops that would strengthen capacity to plan and execute science outreach

Solution 1: Enhance the COS impact through increased collaboration, community engagement and knowledge-sharing

• Increase frequency and access to workshops relevant to WCSD teachers/administrators, and prospective students
• Host academic conferences on the main University campus, as well as Lake Tahoe
• Design and execute community-focused engagement initiatives
• Strengthen partnerships with WCSD K-12 schools
• Address the needs of government and industrial partners by participating in policy discussions, expert panels and advisory boards to influence decision makers using scientific evidence
• Form a standing COS Outreach and Engagement Committee
• Increase workshops, conferences and community engagement events
• Enlist campus experts or visiting speakers to offer workshops on topics including assessment, science communication and best practices in community engagement; offer media training to current and incoming faculty

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Increased public presence on campus and increased presence of COS within the community
• Collaborative projects and research initiatives become models for how the University can help solve real-world problems
• Faculty and staff receive knowledge and tools to develop outreach plans successful with funding agencies

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Goal 2: Increase awareness of public services provided by College of Science units

Gap 1: Low public awareness of COS public service department activities and outputs.
Gap 2: No formalized marketing and communications best practices for public service units, defining a clear workflow for promoting activities to their respective audiences.

Solution 1: Develop and implement a comprehensive communications strategy to support effective coordination and marketing of public service initiatives

• Regularly share significant earthquake information collected by Nevada Seismological Laboratory
• Consistently publish content from the Nevada State Climate Office via a new blog
• Rebuild and update content on existing CREG/NBMG websites
• Based on needs and functions of each unit, develop specialized best practices for promotion and/or communications
• Develop workflows, assign roles and responsibilities to members of public service units and MarCom team
• Provide additional assistance to units with event coordination and marketing for public-facing events

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Cultivate greater understanding of Nevada’s climate, seismological landscape and other public service unit activities
• Improve and standardize communications such that they align with the University’s best practices

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Goal 3: Foster a sense of curiosity and excitement among community members through public-facing College of Science events and museum outreach activities

Gap 1: Low public awareness and attendance for Discover Science Lecture Series (DSLS) talks (target: public).
Gap 2: Low public awareness and attendance for Energy Solutions Forum (ESF) talks (target: professionals in relevant industries).
Gap 3: Minimal assistance in the creation of promotional materials for museum outreach events hosted by the Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, Museum of Natural History and W. M. Keck Museum.
Gap 4: Relatively low public awareness of College of Science museum activities, events and exhibits.

Solution 1: Revamp the COS’s public outreach and event strategy to increase visibility, corporate partnerships and community participation

• Reallocate budget from funding four speakers per year to one or two widely known scientists
• Establish a new, robust promotion plan to encourage more external attendees to join and spread the word about the series to potential corporate partners
• Museum curators work collaboratively with COS MarCom team to build out promotion plans
• Spearhead the effort to plan and execute promotion for the annual University-wide Day at the Museum event
• Museum curators work with COS communications specialist to gather/share content in monthly e-newsletter
• Expand the reach of Museum Monthly newsletters through targeted promotional efforts (e.g., adding a flyer to join the list into weekly packets given to WCSD students, etc.)

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Increase the number of external (e.g., prospective student, community member) attendees at DSLS and ESF events
• Increase the number of subscribers to Museum Monthly by 5% year-over-year
• Expand awareness of museum activities and increase number of visitors to museums

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Goal 4: Increase public knowledge of faculty research and its real-world implications in Nevada and beyond

Gap 1: Inconsistently measured public awareness of research insights derived by College of Science faculty on a local/regional level.
Gap 2: Inconsistently measured awareness of groundbreaking, impactful College of Science faculty research on a national scale.

Solution 1: Enhance the visibility and impact of COS research to expand coverage in Nevada and beyond through targeted media outreach and amplification

• Create and promote a public-facing page on the COS website to function as a “speakers’ bureau” featuring COS faculty who wish to be highlighted as available to give talks or visit classrooms about specific topics
• Consistently post faculty and staff accomplishments on the COS social media pages
• Encourage faculty to reach out to COS communications specialist regarding new research findings and teaching innovations
• Conduct interviews with COS researchers and write stories for Nevada Today
• Draft and send press releases to local media contacts for research stories that are regionally relevant (e.g., to Northern Nevada region, Nevada as a whole)
• Collaborate with the Central University Communications team on plans to amplify stories beyond the state of Nevada
• Amplify stories through television spots on local news stations

Outcomes associated with Solution 1 include:

• Increase local/state-wide and national awareness of quality research produced by the COS (take baseline, then build out goals)
• Attract and recruit new, top-tier academic faculty members from across the country