At the October Faculty Council meeting, the University Research Committee Chairs provided an overview of the 2015 awards and highlighted changes for the 2016 cycle, first thanking the 60+ faculty volunteers, who read and assessed proposals for their commitment to the peer review process. The Chairs also encouraged Faculty Council members to submit nominations for the 2016 Albert E. Levy Scientific Research Awards. The URC awards continue to be short-term, non-renewable grants, capped at the amount specified in each category, available on a competitive basis. Any fees and expenses must fall within that total dollar amount and must be spent within the year of the award. The committee chairs detailed two policy changes for this year’s funding cycle: 1) URC applicants may now request funds for student assistance (including graduate students and post-docs), in addition to allowable expenses related directly to the research project submitted; and 2) Interdisciplinary applications with unique potential impact may now present justification for an award in excess of the $40,000 limit, while indicating if the proposed research project can be completed without additional funds.