Month: January 2019

Who: Jeri Hansen, Director of Research Development
Where: Utah State University
Number of years in Research Development: 10
Length of NORDP membership: 8 years

When and how did you enter the field? What kind of RD work do you do?

 I would say I started down the research development path when I was hired as a sponsored programs administrator at Utah State University in 2004. Four years into that position, in 2008, I was asked by the VPR to explore establishing a proposal writing institute for faculty. That same year, the VPR decided to create an Office of Proposal Development. I applied for the manager position and was hired. As the years passed, the office’s portfolio of work grew to encompass much more than proposal development. So, the name was changed to Research Development and I became director. Nowadays, my focus is on implementing and improving resources for faculty – tools, trainings, internal funding, people – to help them increase their competitiveness in the external funding realm.

What’s your history with NORDP? How have you engaged with the organization (committee work, conferences attended/presented)? 

Shortly after I moved into the research development world, I was looking for a professional organization to help me get my legs underneath me. I found NORDP very early in its life – I joined in 2011 – one year after its official establishment. I have been a member of the Membership Committee (2012-14) and the Nominating Committee (2014-17), where I served as the Nominating Committee chair in 2016-17. I have also been a volunteer at the annual conference. In 2017, I decided to run for a seat on the Board of Directors, and was elected to serve in that capacity from 2017-2021. I now serve as the Board liaison to the Nominating Committee, and most recently was elected as Treasurer (2018-2020). I helped present a general session and pre-conference workshop during the 2018 annual conference, and have attended 6 of the 8 conferences since I joined the organization (I still have all my badges!).

What relationships have you built as a result of NORDP (new colleagues, connections to institutions where you previously had no point of contact)?

 I’m not sure where to even begin with this question! The number of colleagues I now have all over the country because of my involvement in NORDP is amazing. But that is the key – becoming involved. I’m not a terribly outgoing person (hello, introvert), so I must have been possessed when I decided to run for the Board. But as challenging as being a board member can be, it has also been the most rewarding in terms of the relationships and connections I have been able to build. My advice to any member is to push yourself out of your comfort zone. I know – you hear that all the time, but with NORDP, you really will find a reward if you do.

What inspired you to run for a position and serve on the NORDP board?

I’m not sure I would call it inspiration, but I was looking for a way to have more of an impact on the organization and its future. Plus, I looked at the makeup of the Board and really wanted to get to know those individuals better. I feel so involved (big deal for an introvert) and a part of the organization now, and that is a really neat experience.

What initiative are you most excited about in your role as a board member?

I have a soft spot for PEERD (Program for External Evaluation of Research Development). I was once a reviewer and now I’m co-coordinator with Kay Tindle at Texas Tech University. I think PEERD epitomizes NORDP as a whole – a very talented group of professionals more than willing to share knowledge and best practices for the betterment of everyone. You can’t beat that! If you haven’t checked out the PEERD program, you should – https://www.nordp.org/peerd.

What is your proudest accomplishment as NORDP board member?

I wouldn’t necessarily call it “my” accomplishment because I think as a board member, we build upon what others who have gone before us have done. That is especially true for those of us in officer roles. Having said that, as Treasurer, I recently worked with our administrative management company to move a lot of the day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping duties to them so I could be freed up to focus on more strategic thinking, such as looking at investing a portion of the organization’s revenue with the goal of being able to operate on investment dividends at some point in the future.

Compiled by Daniel Campbell, Member Services Committee

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

Who: David Stone, Ph. D., Chief Research Officer
Where: Oakland University
Number of years in Research Development: 12
Length of NORDP membership: 8 years

When and how did you enter the field? What kind of RD work do you do?

In 2005, when I was working in Europe but planning to come to Northern Illinois University as director of sponsored projects, I did an environmental scan in Europe and the US to better understand the needs of faculty with respect to external funding. On the basis of that scan, I saw that faculty at mid-tier institutions like NIU needed assistance with what I call positioning (strengthening their standing in the literature, as researchers, and as grant writers) in order to compete with their colleagues who were selected out of grad school by larger research universities. On that basis, I created a hybrid job that I called research development specialist, a single role that handled the standard pre-award requirements, but who also worked very closely with faculty to strengthen their positioning prior to (and then throughout) their efforts are seeking funding. I am now the chief research officer at Oakland University, where I have made research development integral to our office.

What’s your history with NORDP? How have you engaged with the organization (committee work, conferences attended/presented)?

I had been discussing my new model of RD with Holly before the gathering that led to the founding of NORDP. I presented at the first meeting and have, I think at all subsequent meetings, and was asked to serve on the board in 2012. I have been on the board ever since, including a stint as president in 2014-15. I have served on numerous committees in that time, and in 2015, I founded NORD with the goal of establishing research development not just as a profession, but also as a field of research, providing an opportunity for scholars both within and outside NORDP to create new knowledge based on the work we do in RD and the role it plays in higher education, in science, in economic development, in technology advancement, in knowledge mobilization, and elsewhere.

What relationships have you built as a result of NORDP (new colleagues, connections to institutions where you previously had no point of contact)?

In my years in NORDP, and especially through the board, I have made a number of very strong connections that I have come to rely on in my work. Having served as president, I find that I can call any university in the country when I have a question or need some feedback, and my requests are always welcomed.

What inspired you to run for a position and serve on the NORDP board?

Back in 2010, when we were first talking about whether research development was a coherent thing, something that could be recognized as a profession, it was less clear whether people working in models like mine at NIU would be understood to be doing research development. At that point in time, most people connected to the movement were working in very large universities on very large projects. So, when I was asked to be on the board, and again when I was asked to run for president, I made it clear that core to my mission would be to ensure that the kinds of RD that are carried out at smaller schools and that often involve research admin work as well as RD would be valued, recognized, and represented in NORDP. So during the bylaws revisions in 2013-14, I ensured that there would always be seats on the board for representatives from PUIs, mid-level schools, and minority serving institutions. I am very heartened by the fact that the vast majority of the growth in NORDP membership since 2012 has been in these kinds of institutions.

What initiative are you most excited about in your role as a board member?

I continue to be very excited about the prospects for NORD. Last year we partnered with InfoReady to offer small grant awards to investigators interested in conducting research on (or about) research development. InfoReady has committed $30,000 for three years of pilot funding for these awards in order to kick start RD as a field of study. Unlike research administration, which uses a static body of knowledge to support the work of its professionals, RD professionals always work strategically and contextually, and so need a living, breathing, always developing literature that they can draw from like professionals do in other strategic fields like management or healthcare. Helping launch RD as a field is a complex undertaking, but it plays to my strengths as an interdisciplinary philosopher of science, and so I very much enjoy it and am excited for the day when RD is studied by disciplines outside of us who are examining our contributions to larger issues in higher education, science policy, science funding, faculty development, networked industrial policy, and other issues that are shaping our future.

Compiled by Daniel Campbell, Member Services Committee

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.