Charter for the Northwestern University Committee on Animal Resources
Mission
The functions of the Committee on Animal Resources will be to evaluate the long-term needs of
the life sciences community for animals in research and to formulate and oversee implementation
of a plan to meet those needs. In addition, the Committee will have planning and advisory
responsibilities to the Vice President for Research concerning the facilities and operations of the
Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM). The Committee will work closely with the senior management of CCM and the Vice President for Research to actualize these plans.
Facilities. The Committee will project animal needs of the Northwestern University life sciences community. The Committee will make recommendations:
- to plan both new construction and the renovation of existing space to meet the requirements for the housing of research animals;
- to optimize the use of existing space and plan for new space so as to meet present and future requirements for housing research animals;
- on requests from CCM for the purchase of major equipment (for example, items costing over $50,000);
- to advise the Director of CCM in determining the policies used to assign space and procedures to be followed when conflicts for space must be resolved.
Operations. The Committee will serve as a liaison between CCM, the faculty and Facilities Management. In addition, the Committee will advise on future computer system upgrades and determine whether current resources are being deployed effectively to provide for CCM functions such as ordering, billing, accounting, and animal husbandry. The Committee will recommend to the Vice President for Research cost-cutting or revenue-enhancing procedures, as appropriate, to meet minimum functional requirements.
The faculty, particularly CCM users, will be alerted to the mission of the committee. A Website/email address will be established so that users can report problems or concerns about the administrative or care missions of CCM. This site will be accessible by members of CAR, CCM administration, and designates within the VP for Research's Office. This will facilitate the mission of the committee to track how CCM deals with user concerns and problems.
The Committee will be advisory to the Vice President for Research's Office and the University and Feinberg School of Medicine Budget Offices in determining annual per diem rates. CAR will work with the Vice President for Research's Office and the Feinberg School of Medicine administration to establish a policy regarding how the University and FSM will keep the quality of animal care facilities and per diem rates in line with our competitor institutions. This is required to give long-term confidence to current and potential faculty members that their research programs will not be adversely affected by large raises in cost of animal care and that the animals they use in their research programs will receive high quality care.
The Committee will coordinate with the NU Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) and the ACUC Coordinator to bring concerns and suggestions about the process and procedures used in animal protocol review and determining procedures for animal care use. The committee will assist the ACUC and the CCM Director in implementing improvements to the present system.
Personnel. The Committee will assist the Director of CCM to:
- develop an optimum staffing plan;
- identify and recruit quality senior staff; and
- serve as a consultative body on other personnel issues as may arise at the discretion of the Vice President for Research.
Organization
The Committee on Animal Resources will report to the Vice President for Research. The Chair of the Committee on Animal Resources will be approved by the Vice President for Research, and will be for a term of three years. The Committee will be composed of appointed members and two ex officio members, as follows:
- one faculty member who will serve as chair
- at least six faculty who will be chosen to represent the various constituencies of the life sciences community who use animals in research; each campus will have a minimum of two members
- the chair of the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC)
- the Director of CCM
- the Associate Dean for Research in the Medical School
- the Associate Vice President for Research
- the Vice President for Research, ex officio
- The Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, ex officio
The Committee on Animal Resources will function as an executive committee, in that it will report directly to the central administration. It will recommend be responsible for recommending expenditures in the University budget required to maintain and improve animal facilities at Northwestern University.
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