Administration Guidelines

October 12, 2004

The following guidelines are developed by the OSU Foundation for the use and administration of these donated funds. If for any reason the funds cannot be used for the purposes listed below, please contact the OSU Foundation at 737-4218.

Purpose: To provide support for research, including graduate student training, and extension activities that will enhance the ability of Oregon State University to serve the forage/livestock industries of Oregon.

Forages are Oregon’s number one crop. When pasture land, hay, rangeland, forest grazing and rough land forages for wildlife are considered, forage production far exceeds all other crops in Oregon, yet this is an area of agriculture that gets almost no funding for research and very little extension support. This fund will focus multi-disciplinary efforts on finding solutions for Northwest forage and livestock production systems and will link these activities with efforts in other parts of the US and the world. An agroecozone approach will be used to maximize efficiency of resources and increase the potential for extrapolating research and education programs to similar climate, soil, and production areas within the region. This approach will also allow greater benefit from activities conducted in similar agroecozones in other parts of the nation and the world. This fund is being established to provide some support for these efforts through creation of an on-going funding source.

Funding: This Fund is being established with small initial contributions from James Oldfield and Wayne Mosher with the intent of building the Fund to an endowed level through outside contributions over the coming years. If sufficient funding is obtained, this Fund may be converted to an endowed professorship or chair with the intent of forage/livestock program support. Funds are to be used according to the terms of this agreement.

Administration: The principal of this Fund shall be considered an endowment fund and shall be kept intact and invested in accordance with the investment and spending policies set forth from time to time by the Foundation with only the net income and such net appreciation generated therefrom as the Foundation deems prudent to be expended for the purpose of this Fund.

Use of Funds- The intent for the use of the funds generated by the endowment is for program support, not for project leader salaries. These funds shall be enhancement funds, and are not to be considered as budget replacement funds for research and extension programs.

While the donor would like preference given to projects that are proactive and not likely to be funded through other sources due to their speculative nature, the funds generated by the endowment should be used to meet the highest priority program needs at a given point in time.

Reporting - Annual reports on each funded project shall be provided to the Department Heads of Animal Science, Crop and Soil Science and Rangeland Resources (or their successors) for their further distribution.

Selection Committee – Selection of projects to be funded shall be made by the Selection Committee as outlined below. This Committee shall be appointed by the Heads of the Departments of Animal Science, Crop and Soil Science and Rangeland Resources at Oregon State University in consultation with the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences (or its successor). The Committee will serve in an advisory role to the Department Heads and Dean. The Committee will recommend a project or slate of projects to be funded to the Department Heads and Dean who will confer in making a final decision in awarding funding. Multi-year funding commitments may be recommended. The Committee will be composed of:

1. Two faculty members from the OSU Department of Animal Sciences, one of whom does not work directly in the area of forage/livestock research or extension but has knowledge of work in this area. At least one person should be an off-campus faculty member.
2. Two faculty members from the OSU Department of Crop and Soil Science, one of whom does not work directly in the area of forage/livestock research or extension but has knowledge of work in this area. At least one person should be an off-campus faculty member.
3. Two faculty members from the OSU Department of Rangeland Resources, one of whom does not work directly in the area of forage/livestock research or extension but has knowledge of work in this area. At least one person should be an off-campus faculty member.
4. One other OSU faculty member who has an interest in but is not working directly with forage/livestock research or extension.
5. Three individuals from the Oregon forage/livestock industry appointed by the Department Heads of Animal Science, Crop and Soil Science and Rangeland Resources in consultation with the Dean.
   
   The senior faculty member from the Department of Animal Science, Crop and Soil Science or Rangeland Resources will serve as chair of the Committee. Committee appointments will be for three years.

Selection Criteria – the Selection Committee shall develop and distribute a typical request for proposals (RFP) by March 1 of each year, if funding is known to be available for the coming fiscal year. This RFP shall outline application deadlines and procedures. Any instructor level or higher faculty member in the OSU system shall be eligible to receive funding. When making the decision on which proposal(s) to recommend for funding, committee members who have submitted proposals shall not be involved in making decisions on their own proposals.

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