Penn State's research community is invited to attend a research town hall on Thursday, July 23, at 1:00 p.m. focused on research security, international collaborations and the growing federal requirements that affect the University's research enterprise. The event will be hosted by Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read.
The town hall will provide researchers with an overview of the rapidly changing research environment, and the resources Penn State has in place to help faculty and staff successfully navigate new expectations from federal agencies and sponsors.
Research security broadly encompasses multiple areas, such as international collaborations, export controls, information technology security requirements and travel/visitors. Read's opening remarks at the town hall will focus on recent federal government changes and directives that are reshaping expectations for international collaboration and other research activities.
Learn more about Penn State's Research Security Program and access available resources on the Office for Research Protections website.
Read will provide a high-level overview of the current landscape and discuss why research security is a shared responsibility across the research community. He will be joined by Debra Thurley, associate vice president for research; Clint Schmidt, assistant vice president for research, who oversees the Research Security Program; and members of Penn State's research security and compliance teams, who will answer questions and highlight University resources designed to help researchers avoid compliance issues while continuing to pursue impactful collaborations.
Penn State is committed to supporting research partnerships and international collaborations while helping investigators understand potential risks, evolving sponsor expectations and reporting requirements. The session also will highlight the University's advocacy efforts, as well as new capabilities and infrastructure available to researchers, including support for managing federally required security measures and resources for research involving controlled or sensitive information.
The town hall will be held in person in 603 Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub at University Park and will also be livestreamed via Microsoft Teams for those with a Penn State email address who are unable to attend in person.
Following opening remarks, most of the session will be devoted to research security questions and discussion. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions in advance using this form. Additional questions will be taken live from in-person attendees and through the Teams Q&A feature for those participating remotely. Time permitting, University leaders also will address broader questions related to the research enterprise and research funding environment.
Registration is not required. Faculty and staff with a Penn State email address may join the livestream through Microsoft Teams. Those without Teams access may select the "Watch on the web" option to view the event.
Members of the research community are encouraged to attend in person when possible.
