CHANCELLOR’S RESEARCH INITIATIVE (CRI)

“In addition to the excellent faculty that PVAMU has, enhancing the quality of teaching and research is an area that calls for the attraction and retention of a large number of the highest-quality faculty and creating an environment that would unleash their potential. “We should be dedicated to ensuring that as our students become proficient, their experience should be unprecedented and that when they leave us, they are prepared to make an impact, an impression and an imprint on a world that is continually shaped by the forces of technology and economic globalization.” o

DR. CAJETAN AKUJUOBI

Vice President of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies

CHANCELLOR’S RESEARCH INITIATIVE (CRI)

proves valuable to PVAMU’s ambitious research goals

Three years ago, John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, announced that he would ask the Board of Regents for the creation of the Chancellor’s Research Initiative (CRI). This initiative would provide one-time funds to Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University for the recruitment and hiring of faculty researchers who have established themselves in unique areas that will aid Texas' technological progress and help create and enhance research capacity at the two institutions to ensure the highest quality of research and infrastructure development.

The CRI would provide more than $100 million during three fiscal years beginning in 2013. The CRI became a reality and three years later, PVAMU’s research program can aim for dramatic improvements made possible by CRI funding.

Dr. Cajetan Akujuobi, Vice President of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, said being able to hire the necessary expert faculty and provide essential infrastructure makes all the difference in the world for PVAMU’s ambitious agenda, specifically: • Enhancing awareness of the research capabilities of the university

• Increasing research and scholarly activity

• Increasing collaborative research among faculty, students and external partners.

“I believe the secret to success is to do the common things uncommonly well,” Akujuobi said. “We should prudently channel the expertise of the faculty and staff to teaching and research, and thereby secure and sustain strong teaching and research support.”

To date, PVAMU has been approved for five research centers through the Chancellor’s Research Initiative: The Center for Advancing Innovations in Smart Microgrid, the Computational Biology and Bioengineering Research Lab and the Cyber Security and Information Communication Systems Research Center (CECSTR) in the College of Electrical Engineering; the Radiation Institute for Science and Engineering (RaISE) in the College of Arts and Sciences, and most recently, the Minority Achievement, Creativity and High Achievement Center (MACH-3) in the College of Education. o