More RADIL profits go to MU

MU announced Wednesday that an entrepreneurial organization in the College of Veterinary Medicine generated $3.1 million in profit in the last fiscal year. MU and the veterinary college will receive $1.9 million of the total, and the remaining $1.2 million will be distributed among the eight faculty members involved in the organization as incentive — bonuses to their annual salaries — ranging from $118,000 to $194,000.

The Research Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, or RADIL, has been a hotly contested issue in the veterinary college. The organization screens research animals for infectious diseases and collects information, used by both government and private contractors, for research on human problems, such as infertility.

Last year, some veterinary faculty were unhappy with the exclusivity of the program and the huge incentives that RADIL faculty receive each year, which are unavailable to the rest of faculty in the college. This year, however, it seems cooler heads have prevailed.

“Things have gotten very, very quiet and I’m not sure why,” said Leona Rubin, chairwoman of the veterinary college’s faculty policy committee. “I’m not sure if people have gotten so discouraged that they’ve stopped complaining about it, or if they believe the program has so much administrative support there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Last year, Joe Kornegay, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, renegotiated RADIL’s contract for incentives. The change funneled more of the profits away from the faculty and into the college. MU and the veterinary school received the highest percentage of the program’s profits this year. Rubin said this might have cooled tempers in the college.

RADIL is one of the largest programs in the world performing the services it does, which contributes to its success, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said.

“These researchers have a knowledge-based specialization that is currently not being duplicated anywhere else,” Deaton said in a release from the MU News Bureau. “They meet a tremendous scientific need in our society, serving as a resource to the nation and world. In turn, they help to attract other top-notch faculty to our campus. Their value, especially when budgets are extremely tight, cannot be overstated.”