Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Terry G. Geske

Second Advisor

Barbara S. Fuhrmann

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gather information concerning faculty perceptions of university technology transfer and to compare the perceptions of faculty towards university involvement in technology transfer activities by the relative success of the institutions in technology transfer. The objectives were to describe selected faculty at two land grant universities in the southern portion of the United States. The study was designed to describe faculty based on certain personal, professional, and demographic characteristics, and to compare faculty at an institution defined as successful in technology transfer and an institution that is relatively unsuccessful on certain selected measures. Participants' responses to a researcher-designed survey instrument indicated that there were many similarities across the institutions, both in faculty demographics and in faculty perception of their university's policies and practices in the area of technology transfer. In fact, only one significant demographic difference between the respondents of the two universities was noted. Respondents from the more successful institution in the area of technology transfer had a significantly higher likelihood of having received competitive grant funding within the last three years. All other demographic factors were found to be independent of the institutional affiliation of the faculty member. When reviewing the findings regarding faculty perceptions and institutional affiliation, no significant difference was found between universities on the mean rankings of the importance of technology transfer office functions. However, the universities' respondents differed significantly in their responses to the question of institutional success at technology transfer. Faculty in the more successful institution responded more favorably to the survey items regarding institutional success in technology transfer and faculty in the less successful institution responded less favorably to the same items.

ISBN

9780493213811

Pages

121

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.240

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