Messages from the Vice President for Research

June 20, 2023

Senate Bill 17 (DEI) Guidance for Sponsored Research

Dear Colleagues, The Texas Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 17 has raised questions about the implications for sponsored research that includes a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion component. Although SB17 prohibits public …

SEP 12, 2022

Updated Procedures for Research Affiliates

Dear Colleagues, Concerns at the system, state, and federal levels about research security have motivated us to re-examine many of our processes for granting access to university resources and facilities. One of the most …

AUG 15, 2022

New Proposals and Conflicts Disclosure Portals Launched in June

Dear Colleagues, Welcome back! The Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors has been hard at work this summer getting two new modules of the UT Research Management Suite (UTRMS) launched …

JUN 10, 2022

New Proposals and Conflicts Disclosure Portals Launching June 27

Dear UT Principal Investigators, On Monday, June 27, the research activities hub known as UT Research Management Suite (UTRMS) will launch two entirely new modules, UTRMS-Grants and UTRMS-COI: UTRMS-Grants adds proposal …

APR 5, 2022

Important Information about UT’s New Proposal Submission Software

Dear Colleagues, This summer, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors will launch two key components of the UT Research Management Suite. On June 27, 2022, the UT Research Management …

MAR 24, 2022

Plagiarism—A Message from the Research Integrity Officer

Dear PI Colleagues, Plagiarism in funding proposals—even inadvertent plagiarism—may result in significant sanctions that can derail your career. I am writing to let you know about a tool that can help you avoid a painful error …

JAN 31, 2022

Renaming the Office of the Vice President for Research

Dear PI Colleagues, When President Hartzell introduced our university’s new strategic direction, we made a collective commitment to become the world’s highest-impact public university and achieve our goals through long-term …

JAN 5, 2022

Research Update: Gradual Return to Campus

Dear PI colleagues, graduate students, and postdocs, As you may have read, President Hartzell is making some adjustments to the start of the spring semester, given the significant increase in COVID-19 cases both locally and …

DEC 8, 2021

Update: New Federal Court Decision for Vaccine Mandate

Dear PI Colleagues: The legal status of vaccination mandates has now been examined by the federal courts. Based on the latest decisions, we are now required to cease all activities related to vaccine mandates. Please see the …

DEC 6, 2021

Executive Order on Vaccination and Masks

Dear Colleagues: I write to bring you up to date on three things: 1. Compliance deadline: extended to January 18, 2022 2. Mask policy: please pay special attention to this section 3. Vaccination process …

NOV 10, 2021

Additional Information: Federal Vaccine Mandate Compliance

Dear PI Colleagues: Yesterday, I sent a short note to all university PIs about the federal vaccine and mask mandate and mentioned that the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) will be notifying those PIs whose federal contracts or …

NOV 9, 2021

Federal Research Vaccine Mandate

Dear PI Colleagues: I know many of you are concerned and uncertain about the vaccine and masking mandate announced a few weeks ago by the federal government. At present, this mandate applies to federal contracts and …

AUG 9, 2021

Fall Research Flexibility During COVID-19

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, These aren’t quite the conditions under which I’d hoped to resume my role as vice president for research nor how I was anticipating welcoming you all back to campus for the …

JUL 30, 2021

Delta Variant and Research Update

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, I’m writing to you today to share the most recent COVID-19 information and guidance we have, given the increase in infection rates, both statewide and nationally. University …

JUL 1, 2021

Research Level 0 Begins Monday

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, I hope you are enjoying your summer — whether that’s staying in and around Austin or traveling safely. I’ll be among the many researchers returning to campus this summer, which …

MAY 19, 2021

New Masking Guidelines

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As you’ve likely heard, Governor Abbott issued an executive order yesterday that affects masking policies for counties, cities, school districts, public health authorities and …

MAY 13, 2021

Moving to Research Level 1 on Monday

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As we get closer to resuming full-capacity, on-campus research, I want to share a few quick reminders and updates with you: On Monday, May 17th, we will move to …

MAY 4, 2021

Relaxing Research Social Distancing Requirement

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As part of the research level step-down plan I introduced earlier this month, I’m writing to let you know that effective Monday, May 10, 2021, social distancing square footage …

APR 14, 2021

Research Level Step-Down Begins Next Week

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As the university prepares to return to in-person classes and work this fall, I’m pleased to let you know that we are also initiating a gradual step-down process that will get us back to …

MAR 5, 2021

Mask Guidelines Still in Effect for Researchers

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Following guidance from the Texas Education Agency, university leadership, and medical experts, all mask requirements and recommendations remain in effect for on-campus …

FEB 23, 2021

Research Cohort Changes and New Guidelines

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As we work together to certify that our buildings and spaces can be safely occupied, I want to share some important Research Restart changes with you. This will be a long email …

FEB 22, 2021

Please Read: Process for Resuming On-campus Research

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, I hope the better weather has brought each of you electricity, drinkable water, and a little space to breathe. If you haven’t been outside yet, please try to make time to get some …

FEB 19, 2021

Assessing Damage in Campus Labs and Research Spaces

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As temperatures warm and power comes back online in Austin, coping with water and food shortages is becoming increasingly critical for many. Please continue to prioritize your …

FEB 18, 2021

URGENT: Suspend Research Operations Immediately

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Given the deteriorating conditions in and around Austin and on the UT Campus, including water and electricity disruption, it has been deemed unsafe to conduct research on …

FEB 16, 2021

Proposal Submissions Suspended

Dear PI Colleagues, Because of the historic weather conditions that have severely affected statewide power availability, we recognize that many of you are unexpectedly without electricity, and this includes research administrators …

FEB 14, 2021

OSP Processing Proposals during Closure

Dear PI Colleagues, President Hartzell announced earlier today that campus is closed through Wednesday morning, and understandably many of you have questions about Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) operations. We are aware …

FEB 13, 2021

Experiments During Inclement Weather

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As weather conditions continue to deteriorate in and around Austin, it’s becoming increasingly likely that campus may be closed this coming Monday and/or Tuesday. Please do …

FEB 11, 2021

Campus is Open for Research, but Put Safety First

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Given the precipitation and near-freezing temperatures, please decide for yourself if you need to leave campus early today in order to get home safely. Roads may ice over, and …

JAN 22, 2021

New Semester Notifications

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Welcome back to campus, and welcome to the start of a new semester. I hope each of you had time to rest and reset, and I especially hope that all of you stayed healthy and safe over …

DEC 15, 2020

Today’s First Campus Vaccine and Revised Quarantine Guidelines

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Since March, we’ve witnessed COVID-19 spreading throughout the globe, claiming more than 300,000 lives in the U.S. and 1.6 million worldwide to date. Dangerously high …

NOV 19, 2020

Holiday Research Reminders

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, For many of us, this may be an especially difficult time. In Central Texas, fall feels like it’s finally arrived, courses are winding down, and now is when most of us would make plans …

OCT 30, 2020

New Social Distancing Guideline for Campus Research Spaces

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, I wanted to let you know that in addition to last week’s announcement about extended research shift hours and Animal Resources Center services, the Fall 2020 Planning Executive …

OCT 22, 2020

Extended Cohort Hours and ARC Updates

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, The Fall 2020 Planning Executive Committee and university health experts continue to monitor COVID-19 conditions on campus. Infection rates, particularly among faculty and staff …

OCT 8, 2020

Undergraduate On-Campus Research Begins October 14th

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Thank you for your continued patience as we finalized a plan to help undergraduate students return to on-campus research this semester. As I mentioned in my email to you on …

SEP 18, 2020

On-Campus Undergraduate Research Update

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Two of UT’s core values are Learning and Discovery, which is why so many of you have been asking, understandably, if and when the university would be able to allow …

SEP 11, 2020

Resuming Human Subjects Research and Workforce Density Updates

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, In my email to you at the start of the semester, I mentioned that both the Research Working Group and Health Working Group were developing a plan to allow some forms of human …

SEP 3, 2020

Conducting Research on Campus

Dear PI Colleagues, This week, we’ve begun to see an increase in positive COVID-19 cases within our undergraduate student population. This is concerning but not unexpected. That said, expected or not, there’s nothing easy about …

AUG 28, 2020

Fall Semester Welcome and Testing Pop-Ups Today

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, As a new academic year begins, I want to thank you sincerely for your patience, cooperation, and hard work these past months. Each of you has had to adapt to unforeseen …

AUG 12, 2020

End-of-Semester Research Updates

Dear PI Colleagues, We’re only two weeks away from the start of the fall semester, which seems both impossible and long overdue. The spring and summer were filled with many unknowns, and now new questions will arise …

AUG 3, 2020

Announcing New Research Integrity Officer

Dear PI Colleagues, I’m pleased to let you know that Mary Steinhardt will be UT’s next research integrity officer (RIO), effective Sept. 1, 2020. The research integrity officer is responsible for addressing all allegations of research …

JUL 31, 2020

COVID-19 App and Testing Update

Dear PI Colleagues, We’re getting closer to the start of the fall semester, and I want to send a few important updates your way. This will be most relevant to those of you working or conducting research on campus. Proactive …

JUL 28, 2020

Note about FBI Queries

Dear PI Colleagues, We want to make you aware of an ongoing and evolving national situation that may affect some members of our research community. The FBI notified us last week that, due to the recent closure of the Chinese …

JUL 15, 2020

Important: Cohort Scheduling Options Begin July 27

Dear PI Colleagues, Last week, I shared some testing updates with you and let you know that on-campus research activities will remain at Research Level 3 (ultralow density). This is still the case, but with one new and important …

JUL 8, 2020

Testing Updates, Research Level 3

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Along with the Fall 2020 Planning Executive Committee, I continue to closely monitor the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Travis County. At present, on-campus research activities …

JUN 25, 2020

Research Phase 3 Updates

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, Thank you again to all of you who joined us in our town halls earlier this month. If you weren’t able to attend, you can view recordings of both here. I know we weren’t able to get …

JUN 12, 2020

Friday Updates for Researchers

Dear PI Colleagues, Graduate Students, and Postdocs, I have several quick updates to share with you this Friday, but first I want to say thank you to Dr. Leonard Moore, American history professor and our VP for Diversity and …

JUN 9, 2020

Research Restart Planning – VIDEO

Dear UT Faculty, Staff, and Research Community, UT paused most research in March when statewide stay-at-home orders were issued, and since that time, I’ve been working with a large team of associate deans and campus experts …

JUN 5, 2020

Summer Parking

Dear PI Colleagues, This morning, Parking & Transportation Services sent an email to faculty, students, and staff — including postdocs and other research staff — to let them know that on June 19, parking on campus will again …

JUN 4, 2020

Presidential Proclamation – Visas

Dear PI Colleagues, You may be aware that last week, President Trump issued a proclamation that prohibits certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with F-1 or J-1 visas from entering the country. The proclamation also …

JUN 3, 2020

Shared: Update — University Email Policy

Dear Colleagues, If you already use a UT Austin email address for University business, please disregard this message. If you use a non-UT email address, please take the time to read this message as this change in our email policy …

JUN 3, 2020

Town Hall – Research Restart

Dear PI Colleagues, Many of you are returning to your labs and research spaces this week, and I wanted to send a note letting you know, again, how much I appreciate your patience as the university finalizes all the details of a gradual …

MAY 29, 2020

Friday Updates About Research Restart

Dear PI Colleagues, Please let me begin by saying that I know how difficult things have been for you and your teams these past two months. I appreciate your remarkable cooperation and effort in pausing research activities in March …

MAY 21, 2020

Research Restart

Dear PI Colleagues, After several weeks of careful planning with your associate deans for research (ADRs), and with critical insight from UT health experts and the university-wide COVID-19 Recovery Executive Committee, I am pleased to …

MAY 15, 2020

Research Administrator Awards: Nominate a Colleague!

Dear Colleagues, We are seeking your nominations for the fourth annual Research Administrator Awards to recognize two University Staff in the field of research administration. A research administrator supports principal …

MAY 1, 2020

Leadership Transition and COVID-19 Research

Dear PI Colleagues: These past several weeks have brought waves of unexpected news — from stay-at-home orders and a laboratory research pause to hearing that both President Fenves and Provost McInnis would be leaving …

APR 28, 2020

Research Restart Update

Dear PI Colleagues: Yesterday afternoon, Governor Abbott announced initial plans for select Texas businesses to re-open beginning May 1. With the Governor’s announcement, and the scheduled expiration of the City of …

APR 16, 2020

COVID-19 and Planning Process for Resuming On-campus Research

Dear PI Colleagues: I know that all of you are facing unprecedented personal and professional challenges as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, I am acutely aware of the painful impact that the pause in …

MAR 23, 2020

Pause in Laboratory Research Activities

Dear PI Colleagues: We know that this is a trying time for all of you and regret extremely that circumstances require an additional painful restriction of research activity. Effective Tuesday March 24 at 5 PM, you must pause all …

MAR 17, 2020

Update: COVID-19 and Research

Dear PI Colleagues: With President Fenves’ announcement that undergraduates will not be returning to campus, we are updating a few of the items that were in our memo of Sunday, March 15. At the moment, the policies in that memo all …

MAR 15, 2020

Lab and Core Operations and Human Subject Research

Dear PI Colleagues: I know that the uncertainties around laboratory and human subject research are layered onto the already stressful uncertainties we all face during the current outbreak. You have a very difficult task before you of …

MAR 12, 2020

COVID-19 and Research

Dear Research PIs: This memo provides advice and links to resources dedicated to research. The University currently intends to remain open and to permit all research activities to continue. We will send out announcements about any …