University Research Committee

Charge

The University Committee on Research shall periodically review and make recommendations concerning policies and issues relating to the conduct and support of faculty research. This shall include, but not be limited to, services provided to scholars by the administrative units of the University. The Committee shall also provide liaison to the following University committees: University Libraries Committee and Information Services Committee.

Meetings: Contact committee chair for the date/locations of the committee meetings.

Specific Charge for 2024 – 2025 Academic Year

As AI tools continue to advance, they have the potential to transform academic research by improving research productivity, facilitating literature reviews, identifying research gaps, analyzing data and helping with writing. Going beyond that, by incorporating new AI capabilities into research systems themselves, AI is empowering researchers to address problems that seemed intractable just a few years ago.

Leveraging the full promise of AI requires that USC equip faculty, staff and students engaged in research with the knowledge and skills needed to use AI effectively while avoiding its pitfalls. The Research committee will review current AI course offerings at the university and provide recommendations on how these courses can be expanded and specialized versions developed for the various disciplines to create a state-of-the-art training program for faculty, staff and students aimed at enhancing their research productivity, innovation and impact. The committee will provide an estimate of the costs of such a program, the key obstacles to implementation and how they can be addressed and a timeline for execution.

Chair

Gale Sinatra | USC Rossier School of Education

Gale M. Sinatra, gsinatra@usc.edu, Rossier School of Education

Committee Members

Morten Bay, mortench@usc.edu, Annenberg School for Communication
Peter Cardon, cardon@marshall.usc.edu, Marshall School of Business
Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, copurgen@usc.edu, Rossier School of Education
Nicholas Mancuso, Nicholas.Mancuso@med.usc.edu, Keck School of Medicine
Daniel O’Leary, oleary@usc.edu, Leventhal School of Accounting
Eunjoo Pacifici, epacific@usc.edu, Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy
Stacey Schepens Niemiec, schepens@chan.usc.edu, Chan Division/Occupational Therapy
William Swartout, swartout@ict.usc.edu, Viterbi School of Engineering
Phebe Vayanos, phebe.vayanos@usc.edu, Viterbi School of Engineering
Holly Willis, hwillis@usc.edu, School of Cinematic Arts
Carol Wise, cwise@usc.edu, Dornsife College
Clifford Neuman (Executive Board Liaison), bcn@isi.edu, Viterbi School of Engineering

Ex Officio Member

Meredith Drake Reitan, mereditd@usc.edu, Associate Dean, USC Graduate School; Adjunct Associate Professor at the Price School and the School of Architecture