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NOTES

(1) Dulles Research Institute Bylaws, §2.2.

(2) Ibid., §4.

(3) Ibid., §5.

(4) Ibid., §6.

14. How is the Dulles Research Institute organized?

The Dulles Research Institute is fundamentally a community of scholars carrying on and enabling independent research into the sexual abuse of minors and sexual harassment of vulnerable adults by Catholic priests, along with other topics relevant to supporting and improving the health, happiness, holiness, and effectiveness of priests in the Catholic Church. In carrying out this important work, the DRI relies on several different groups of people.

Board of Directors

The Dulles Research Institute is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Michigan on a directorship model. According to this model, the Board of Directors functions as the governing board of the organization. According to its Bylaws (1), the DRI Board of Directors is comprised of no fewer than three and no more than seven members; the current Board has four members. All members are elected for three-year terms, and those terms are staggered so that the organization never has an entirely new Board.

Officers

Under the Dulles Research Institute’s Bylaws (2), and in compliance with Michigan law, the organization must always have at least three officers: a president, a secretary, and a treasurer. At the discretion of the Board of Directors, the DRI may also have a vice-president and, at present, it does.

All officers are elected by the Board of Directors from among its own members to serve one-year terms, with the election taking place at the Board’s annual meeting.

Senior Research Fellows

The core of the Dulles Research Institute is its Senior Research Fellows, a team of experts in fields of research relevant to the DRI’s mission. Ordinarily, Senior Research Fellows hold terminal degrees in their field of study and are recognized as rigorous scholars by their colleagues. Individual scholars become members of the DRI’s Senior Research Fellow team by invitation from the Board of Directors, which may be made upon recommendation of a majority of the existing Senior Research Fellows. The Senior Research Fellows have the ability to access the DRI’s proprietary data in carrying out their own individual and collective research, subject to the usual Institutional Review Board approvals.

In addition to their own research, Senior Research Fellows carry out the following responsibilities for the Dulles Research Institute. They:

  • Propose topics for study;

  • Recommend to the Board of Directors, by majority vote, the acceptance of the DRI’s own research projects and the designation of principal investigators, after careful review of and input into proposals;

  • Oversee all original DRI research, receiving regular reports and offering input;

  • Review applications for the DRI’s external research grants and recommend grant awards, by majority vote, to the Board of Directors;

  • Function as the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Dulles Research Institute; and

  • Individually chair the DRI’s various working groups.

Senior Research Fellows are typically appointed to three-year terms, though the length of term is left to the discretion of the Board of Directors. The team is collectively constituted as a Committee, under the DRI’s Bylaws (3)

Members

In addition to the Senior Research Fellows, the DRI’s work is carried on by it’s members. Dulles Research Institute members do not require an invitation, and may apply at their own discretion to join the organization, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. DRI members do not have access to the Institute’s proprietary data, but they contribute to the DRI’s work through participation in the organization’s working groups and its annual conference. Ordinarily, DRI members will hold terminal degrees in fields of study relevant to the DRI’s mission; student memberships are available to doctoral candidates in these fields. Membership in the Dulles Research Institute is subscription based and is renewed annually.

Advisory Board

Recognizing that its effectiveness relies on insights that come from beyond academia, the Dulles Research Institute is grateful for the involvement of its Advisory Board (4). Chosen by the Board of Directors because of their experience and expertise, members of the Advisory Board offer input on the Institute’s research priorities, its governance, its engagement with the public, and the makeup of its various teams. Ordinarily, DRI Advisory Board members serve for three-year terms, though the term of service is left to the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Staff

As deemed necessary for the efficient and effective functioning of the organization, the DRI Board of Directors may choose to employ paid and/or volunteer staff members to carry out its administrative work.

Together, these various groups of people all contribute to the DRI’s mission:

The Dulles Research Institute exists to contribute to the prevention of sexual abuse and harassment in the Catholic Church and to foster healthy, effective, priestly life and ministry among Catholic priests, by engaging in rigorous, multidisciplinary, independent scholarly research, publication, and dialogue focused on the causes and effects of the abuse and harassment crisis and other challenges facing Catholic priesthood.