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The University of Chicago's porous boundaries have made it a leader in interdisciplinary research.
From its founding, the University of Chicago has approached research development differently from peer institutions.
The University of Chicago does not construct buildings then decide what research will take place there. Instead, ideas spring naturally from our researchers collaborating across disciplines as well as institutions to solve really big problems utilizing a myriad of viewpoints, tools, and technology. These porous boundaries have resulted in world-changing ideas and new schools of thought.
Yet even with an institutional culture that is fundamentally supportive of this type of interdisciplinary research, more can be done to enable the University to adapt to the changing research environment and stimulate these sorts of research teams.
Arete was originally conceived and fostered by John Cacioppo, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Professor in Psychology; Matthew Christian, Executive Administrator, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience; and Ken Olliff, Director for Strategic Foundation Initiatives.
Large interdisciplinary projects have high entry barriers. Organizing a team of colleagues is itself challenging, yet faculty leaders also have to be willing to take on a substantial risk, asking colleagues to commit substantial time and resources to develop a complicated proposal in an uncertain funding environment.
Cacioppo, Christian, and Olliff developed Arete as an university-wide infrastructure for ensuring that Chicago's talented faculty have the resources they need to successfully lead interdisciplinary teams that have the potential to produce scholarly innovations and advance what were thought to be intractable problems.
After its pilot year, Arete was vetted and approved by the University's leadership and recently established as a University initiative sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and National Laboratories and the Office of the Provost.
