Advisor's Ownership of Mentored Work

A graduate student prepares a research proposal as part of her dissertation requirements.  Her faculty advisor reviews the proposal but otherwise provides only minimal assistance in developing the concept.  The student later learns that her advisor has paraphrased sections of her proposal and incorporated them into his own application to a different funding agency.  How should the student respond?

J1G says:  This happened to me in graduate school.  I tried to bring this to the attention of the dean of the college, who "investigated" it and wrote me back a scathing letter in which he chastised me for daring to criticize one of their sterling faculty members.  So my advice is: Let it go, get on with your life, and recognize that students are treated like germ entities at many institutions.  It's just a fact of life, and no student is going to be able to change it.

K5R says:  This situation is unfortunately all too common, and I don't see much recourse for the student.  I do think the student should make sure that his or her name is included as a participant in the advisor's grant application, with funding requests. The student will therefore be able to gain some mileage out of the advisor's grant application, even if their own grant is not funded.