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Greenberg responds to questions from June 15 meeting  During a “town hall” meeting June 15, MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., answered questions from faculty members on issues that concerned them. During the next few weeks, The Catalyst will publish those questions with Greenberg’s answers. The intent is to encourage further dialogue on issues of concern to the MUSC family. Questions, comments and concerns can be addressed by e-mail to president@musc.edu. They will be published with replies as they become available. Bill Boggan, Psychiatry: I was pleased recently when I received an e-mail on the subject of teaching teachers to teach and improving the quality of teaching. It seems that over the number of years that I’ve been here there has been an increasing emphasis on raising dollars in the quality of teaching. The quality of teaching, the quality of research is measured in terms of dollars. It feels like if you don’t bring in dollars then you’re not a productive person and 2) if the dollars are not flexible, dollars in terms of indirect costs then those two are not as valuable as (teaching). Dr. Ray Greenberg: I certainly hope that we are not communicating a message that excellence in teaching is not highly valued within the institution.  Across this campus, I think the faculty is very committed to its teaching role and I hope that the administrators within the individual units are part of a reinforcement process for that.  I’m very pleased that we’ve put in place the Teaching Awards a few years ago, and I can tell you again having been the Provost and having seen who comes forward for tenure consideration, we’ve had several individuals who had what some of us would call fairly nominal publication records who were outstanding teachers who were promoted on the basis of that. And in fact having the Teaching Awards in place has provided a kind of documentation to support that decision-making.  It is certainly true that we are in an environment where entrepreneurial spirit on the part of the faculty is encouraged. No question about it. When you look at our budget and you realize that we’re a state institution but less than 15 percent of our operating budget comes from appropriated monies, it’s a financial reality of running the institution and the places where there’s the greatest opportunity for entrepreneurial spirit are in research and in clinical service.  So there’s no question that the institution has placed a lot of emphasis on that and maybe too much emphasis. I would be willing to hear that as a potential comment or criticism that we’ve emphasized that too much.  Within research, you talk, about the indirect cost piece and that some sources are valued more than others. There is probably a reality to that as well. As you know, the federal funding probably comes with the highest indirect cost rates that we can receive and that funding is necessary to support the infrastructure.  There’s a perception that that’s kind of free money to be used for all sorts of icing on the cake, but it really runs the research enterprise, and so it’s therefore necessary for us to bring it in. There are certain funding sources like foundations, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, that come with very nominal funding and effectively becomes cost-underwriting by the university to accept those kinds of awards.  There’s no question that there has been a conscious effort to try to direct people towards those sources of funding that help pay the full weight of that.  I am not aware that someone could not submit a grant to a particular funding source because of the indirect costs associated with it, but it might of happened.  Boggan:  There is no case that I know of either. It does put the investigator in an awkward position if you want to seek funds at 8 percent indirect and that competes with time and energy to seek funds for 45-50 indirect. You don’t feel like you can juggle both and that’s the bind you find yourself in. Greenberg:  I understand, and it’s an excellent point. We should look for a mixed portfolio. I don’t think that we want to put ourselves in the precarious position to depend on any one funding source for operation.