Research Integrity Committee

The Research Integrity Committee (RIC) serves as an advisory group to senior university leadership for research and scholarship related integrity, safety, compliance, and reputational risks. These risks coupled with extensive compliance and reporting requirements related to extramural funding represent a significant burden on researchers and administrative systems. The RIC will ensure that a coordinated approach to assessing, mitigating, and monitoring these risks is established and policies developed to promote research and scholarship integrity. This committee will initially be charged with developing a Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) education program for faculty, postdoctoral researchers and technical staff to go along with existing education requirements for all graduate students and a group of research-active undergraduate students; thinking about ways of assessing current RECR education programs; and planning for emerging threats like research integrity issues associated with artificial intelligence, dealing with foreign influences, detrimental research practices, poor mentorship issues, etc.

Committee Charges 

1. Ensure well defined roles and responsibilities and assigned accountability for critical risks. 
2. Increase the coordination of integrity, compliance and risk reduction activities overseen by the various research oversight committees, and senior administrators. 
3. Inform senior leadership of current and evolving issues and concerns in research integrity, RECR education, safety, compliance, and other risk areas. 
4. Develop a university policy document on research integrity and expectations. 
5. Develop a set of uniformed guidelines for selected topics (e.g., detrimental research practices) that promote the integrity and compliance issues on the campus.  
6. Develop education programs for faculty, postdoctoral researchers and other technical staff. 
7. Provide advice to the senior administration on proposed  initiatives or policies that will have a significant impact on research and scholarship integrity and compliance. 
8. Ensure oversight committees and the general MSU population are aware of new research objectives or initiatives that impact their areas of responsibility. 

Committee Membership

• Greg Swain, Director of RECR Education Program, Office of Research and Innovation (swaing@msu.edu)
• Amy Bransch, Office of Research Regulatory Support (bransch1@msu.edu)
• Krista Campeau, Research Security, Export Controls and Trade Sanctions, Office of Research and Innovation (kcampeau@msu.edu)
• Honglei Chen, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (chenho19@msu.edu)
• Charles "Lee" Cox, Research Integrity Officer, Office of Research and Innovation (coxclee@msu.edu)
• Len Fleck, Department of Philosophy and Center for Bioethics and Social Justice (fleck@msu.edu)
• Geoffrey Henebry, Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences (henebryg@msu.edu)
• Christopher Long, Dean College of Arts and Letters (cplong@msu.edu)
• Aaron Reifler, Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (reiflera@msu.edu)
• John Verboncoeur, Associate Dean College of Engineering (johnv@msu.edu)