Phoebe
Background
Phoebe Proposal is based on Kuali Coeus (KC), a comprehensive open-source software system developed by universities for universities to manage a broad range of research administration and compliance functions. Kuali Coeus uses MIT’s proven Coeus system as its baseline design, with updated technical architecture and a roadmap for future improvements. UC Berkeley used Coeus for many years to track proposals, awards, and subawards. As of October 2016, all Coeus functionality was integrated with and migrated to Berkeley’s Phoebe implementation, and the legacy Coeus system was retired. Phoebe is also integrated with eProtocol.
Phoebe Search is a tool developed by RAC to provide an interface for UC Berkeley researchers and research administration staff with access to information on proposals and awards.
Why Phoebe?
The campus chose the name Phoebe for several reasons.
In Greek mythology, the titan Phoebe was the sister of Coeus, and represents a connection between our new system and the original Coeus system in use at Berkeley since 1998. Phoebe in ancient Greek means “bright and shining.”
Phoebe is also a name that resonates on the Berkeley campus in a number of ways. Not only was Phoebe Apperson Hearst a major benefactor of the campus at an early time in the history of the young university, responsible for the Hearst Mining Building and the campus’s first development plan, she also founded the University of California Lowie Museum of Anthropology. Renamed the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in 1992 in celebration of the Museum’s 9th decade, the original collection was founded in 1901 with about 230,000 objects representing cultures and civilizations throughout history. The museum now contains about 3.8 million objects. Throughout her lifetime, and as denoted in her will, Phoebe Hearst donated over 60,000 objects to the Museum.
Phoebe A. Hearst had a strong interest in the student body. She established scholarships for women students and allowed her home to be used as a women’s student center. A social pioneer with a broad interest in education, she founded the National Congress of Mothers (a precursor to the national PTA) and was responsible for establishing kindergartens in the Bay Area. Her presence extended beyond Berkeley, even within the University. She was the first woman to serve as a UC regent.
Just as Phoebe Hearst built much of the original infrastructure of the University, we hope and expect that the Phoebe system will constitute a significant part of the campus research infrastructure, providing a platform for enterprise-level research development and administration work for years to come, with many other universities contributing to the core application to continue its growth and development.