SPEAKERS

Carnegie Mellon University Libraries is currently developing an innovative suite of AI-powered tools addressing two critical challenges in research information management: the adoption barrier for public researcher profiles and the balanced distribution of committee service responsibilities among faculty. Our prototype toolset leverages natural language processing and machine learning techniques to extract committee service data from faculty CVs and other unstructured sources, import this information into the Elements/Scholars@CMU platform, and analyze the data to provide recommendations for achieving greater balance in committee service workload. This presentation will share our in-progress development approach, initial prototype functionality, methodological considerations, and preliminary findings. We'll demonstrate how libraries can position themselves as essential curators of institutional data while advancing fairness initiatives through innovative applications of AI in research information management.

US polls show that the the public is increasingly skeptical of the value and cost of higher education. In a recent Gallup poll, only 36% of adults have a “great deal” or “quite a lot of” confidence in higher education. This has declined steadily from 57% in 2015. Issues around affordability and value, trust and confidence, and a perceived disconnect with the average American are fueling this perception. It is more important than ever for academia to communicate effectively about the value of universities to the public. Research is one aspect of this. Research Information Management Systems (RIMS) are an important tool that can help communicate a university's research and scholarly activities to its local, regional, national, and international community. We will hear from experts on communicating about research to the public, as well as universities who have used their RIM to enhance community engagement.

Research security compliance is an essential and challenging process for university research administrators. Many countries, including the United States, have instituted research security policies tied to government research grants, with the goal of safeguarding research from undue foreign influence. In this panel, we will discuss how Research Information Management Systems (RIMS) can support these efforts. Any research security work is only as good as the data behind it. RIMS offer one important source of research security data about faculty affiliations (current and prior), funding sources, and collaborators. We will hear how universities are using their RIM to support this use case.