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PSD Chairs Research Tower Space Assignment Guidelines

Pharmaceutical Sciences Division (PSD) Chairs Research Tower Space Assignment Guidelines

Approved by the Executive Committee on April 14, 2020

I. Policy Regarding Assignment of Lab Space

  1. The PSD Chair, after consultation with PSD Vice Chairs, is solely responsible for assigning laboratory, office, and common space to School of Pharmacy (SOP) faculty in the research tower of Rennebohm.
  2. Space allocation, while dynamic, is expected to be single floor continuous space whenever possible.
  3. Allocated laboratory space is defined as the designated laboratory/office space and the equipment corridor directly outside the allocated.  Any equipment that cannot be directly accommodated within these boundaries must be designated to common space.
  4. Unoccupied lab modules cannot be occupied without approval by the PSD.
  5. Requests for additional lab space must be justified based on: proposed use, funding support, lab function, current publication productivity (numbers and quality), and number of personnel who are fully supported by the SOP faculty.  Justification for additional lab space must be included in a formal proposal (see below) submitted to the PSD Chairs.
  6. Each lab module (defined as a single lab typically containing 3 bays, an internal inset and corresponding office space) is expected to accommodate six full-time personnel (graduate students, postdocs, residents, scientists, and/or specialists) all of whom are fully supported by the SOP faculty.  Note that undergraduates, PharmD students, and personnel supported by faculty or departments outside the School of Pharmacy do not automatically count toward the total of six but may be considered on a case by case basis.
  7. The PSD Chairs policy for reassignment of lab space, common space, and/or office space in  the Research Tower will be as follows:
    1. PSD Chairs will identify lab space that cannot be justified on the basis of 6 persons/lab module.
    2. PSD Chairs will move faculty who cannot justify a whole lab module together such that they share a lab module, if necessary.
    3. PSD Chairs will reassign common space, if necessary, in an effort to optimize the utilization of this space.
    4. PSD Chairs will reassign faculty/staff offices, if necessary.
    5. Every faculty member is insured one module if engaged in an active research program.
    6. Any space above one module is subject to contraction or expansion depending on verified need as determined by the measures listed in the existing space policy.
    7. There will be no limits place on expansion in the research tower unless all space is filled according to the requirements specified in the space policy.  At that point, an attempt will be made redefine the space counting metrics or to find additional space outside the SoP.
    8. Research tower wet lab space will be made equally available to any faculty member, regardless of division, who is actively engaged in research.

II. Policy Regarding Assignment of Common Lab Space

  1. Common space is defined as space located on the “inside” of floors 4-7 either across the hall from the main lab modules or across the hall from faculty.  This space, with notable exceptions, is typically designated for “common users”.
  2. Some common space has been assigned by the PSD Chairs to individual SoP.  The decision to assign common space to a SoP faculty member resides with the PSD Chairs.
  3. To ‘occupy’ common space with equipment, a brief proposal must be submitted to the PSD.  The proposal should include location, intended use, justification, confirmation by other faculty on the floor of their approval, a request for locked or open (unlocked) status, and a list of anticipated key holders (if locked status is granted).
  4. The PSD Chairs strongly encourage open access to all common space (that is not assigned to an individual faculty member) but realize that some experiments and equipment require restricted.  Should keys be issued to a particular unassigned common space room, this does not denote exclusivity of space use and the keys for any locked common space will be made available to any faculty member who can justify access to that space through a written request to the PSD Chairs.
  5. The major user of each particular common room will become the OSHA contact person for that space.
  6. Given that common space is limited, all possible intra-floor common space alternatives must first be exhausted prior to exploring inter-floor options.  Should a SOP faculty member wish to utilize common space on another floor, the same procedure applies, and requires approval by the PSD Chairs.

    III.      Space Proposal Outline

    1. All requests regarding Research Tower office, main lab, or common lab space allocation must be submitted via email to the PSD Chairs.
    2. Description of proposal—provide a brief overview of the justification for reassignment of office or lab space (e.g., expansion in personnel; need for specialized laboratory, etc.). Be brief but complete.
    3. Funding—list your current sources of funding (internal and external) for existing and anticipated.  Only funded, not pending, grant applications will be considered as justification.
    4. Publications—list your peer-reviewed publications for the last two
    5. Personnel—list all current and pending personnel and whether they are currently supported on RA, TA or PA Justifiable ‘personnel’ include residents, scientists, postdocs, graduate students and specialists for whom the PSD faculty member provides full salary support.  Pending personnel include individuals who have accepted an offer of employment by the SOP faculty member.
    6. A graduate student “counts” if he or she is supported by a SOP faculty member at or above the program designated stipend level ($27,500 in 2019/2020 for the Pharm Sci PhD program).
    7. A SOP faculty member is considered the D. advisor for a graduate student for the purpose of “counting personnel” if the student is supported by the faculty member as a:
      • PA, RA, TA, PA/RA, PA/TA, or RA/TA
      • Predoctoral Trainee on a NIH Training Grant
      • NRSA, AFPE, or other extramural fellow
    8. A SOP faculty member is considered the advisor for a postdoc for the purpose of “counting personnel” if the postdoc is supported:
      • 100% time by the advisor’s funds
      • as a Postdoctoral Trainee on a NIH Training Grant
      • via NRSA, AFPE, or other extramural fellowship support
    9. Graduate students, postdocs, specialists, residents, and scientists supported by a faculty member or department outside the SOP, such as TAs funded by an outside department, PharmD students, and undergraduates will be considered on a case by case basis.
    10. SOP faculty do not count as personnel for the purpose of assigning lab space.
    11. Ultimately each case will be determined on its own merits and may lead to arrangements not completely consistent with the space policy requirements for space allocation.
     

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