Transforming UAlbany's Division for Research & Economic Development

• Strengthen infrastructure and solidify our R1 status  

  • Promote better understanding of and support for research  

  • Spark enthusiasm for research among students and faculty  

  • Grow the University’s research portfolio with more interdisciplinary and industry-sponsored research 

  • Strengthen infrastructure and operations  

  • Onboard more staff and resources to make faculty feel supported and existing staff feel appreciated  
     

• Bring the University closer as a community 

  • Increase engagement, transparency and communication  

  • Build a community and network to encourage collaboration  
     

• Build partnerships with stakeholders  

  • Work as a team, break down silos and build bridges  

  • Make lives easier for everyone and streamline processes  

  • Incentivize research and reduce the administrative burden for both researchers and administrative staff

  • Use data to leverage past successes and improve workflow  

• Streamline administrative processes and funding management 

• Resistance to change  

  • Conflict between State and RF, increasing regulatory environment and too much red tape  

  • Fear of the project becoming bureaucratic or not being implemented correctly  

  • Fear of losing track of the goal and being unable to move forward  
     

• Resource constraints, administrative support, and staffing issues 

  • Fear of losing funding due to lack of administrative support  

  • Fear of losing colleagues due to frustration or workload issues  

  • Not being able to offer competitive salaries  

  • Tiredness, lack of momentum and fear of burnout or losing focus  

  • Inability to attract, and fear of losing, high-quality candidates  
     

• Lack of clarity and communication 

  • Not engaging faculty and students effectively  

  • Conflicting priorities pulling faculty into different directions 

• The amount of work for a continuation award is the same as a new award  

• Lack of research facilitators and graduate student participation  

• Inconsistent incentives and coursework across different schools and colleges  

• Clunky connectivity between pre and post award for Principal Investigators (PIs) 

• Lengthy accounting processes for purchasing  

• Inability to mix State and RF money  

• Employee turnover and lack of succession planning  

• Inconsistent policies and responses to questions  

• Printable paperwork needing modernization  

• Need for a chat/ticketing system to address questions and collect data  

• Lack of user testing and engagement from the beginning  

• Red tape getting in the way of research activity  

• Lack of transparency in research priorities and decision making  

• Communication issues and lack of information about policy changes  

• Difficulty getting approval or funding for community-based research 

• Need for transparency in Indirect Cost Recovery / Return (ICR) distribution  

• Importance of education and training for new faculty  

• Need for two-way communication and feedback 

• More targeted and effective communication  

  • Partner with communications and marketing teams to create engaging videos instead of long emails  

  • Recognize different cultures in various school/colleges and work with schools, colleges and departments to send more targeted emails about grants, opportunities and incentives, instead of generalized listserv emails 

  • Recognize communications as two-way and provide feedback to the community  
     

• Leverage existing meetings and events 

  • Attend faculty meetings to give brief presentations  

  • Conduct orientation for researchers every few years to update them on policy changes  

  • Leverage the Research Coffee Hour  
     

• Leverage existing website and technology  

  • Encourage campus to use the IDEAS Portal  

  • Learn from the University Library’s chat system  

  • Provide clear guidelines on who to contact on the website  
     

• Offer more interpersonal interactions 

  • Centralize and leverage research facilitators as ambassadors to offer in-person support  

  • Interact more with the campus community through zoom or in-person meetings  

Co-chairs:

• Satyendra Kumar, Associate Vice President for Grant Development 

• David Hochfelder, Associate Professor & Director of the Public History Program, Department of History, College of Arts & Sciences

Staff Volunteer: Elisa López, University Research Awards & Information Coordinator 

Members from the Division for Research & Economic Development:  

• Erin Bell, Interim Assistant Vice President (Research Compliance) 

• Maria Pidgeon, Interim Director, Office of Economic Development 

• Peter Gonczlik, Director, Office for Innovation Development & Commercialization 

• Christine McCrary, Interim Associate Director for Research Administration, Sponsored Programs Administration 

• Tianning Huang, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Data, Assessment, and Technology 

Members from the University Community: 

• Won Namgoong, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, Interim Chair of Computer Science, College of Engineering & Applied Sciences 

• Rabi Musah, Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences 

• Nick Bassill, Senior Research Support Specialist, Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences; Research Scientist, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center 

• DeeDee Bennett-Gayle, Associate Professor, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity 

Scope: Establish effective and efficient ways to communicate with and engage faculty/researchers. 

Top Priorities: 

• Bidirectional communication between Sponsored Programs Administrations (SPA) staff and faculty to develop rational internal timelines and policies 

• Engage faculty and the Council on Research to incentivize research and scholarship 

• Best communication practices for the services and infrastructure offered by the Division 

• Mentoring researchers in obtaining grants and post-award requirements 

• Promoting and affecting faculty research excellence 

Bidirectional communication between Sponsored Programs Administrations (SPA) staff and faculty to develop rational internal timelines and policies 

Engage faculty and the Council on Research to incentivize research and scholarship 

Best communication practices for the services and infrastructure offered by the Division

Mentoring researchers in obtaining grants and post-award requirements

Promoting and affecting faculty research excellence

Co-chairs:  

• Tianning Huang, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Division for Research & Economic Development 
• Spencer Bruce, Research Technology Manager, ITS  

Members from the Division for Research & Economic Development:  

• Theresa A. Pardo, Associate Vice President for Governance of Institutes, Centers & Specialized Labs, and Research Data 
• Satyendra Kumar, Associate Vice President for Grant Development 
• Terrell Rabb, Interim Director, Office of Regulatory & Research Compliance 
• Lauren A. Cole, Director, Research Foundation Human Resources 
• Todd A. Remkus, Manager of Award Establishment and Maintenance, Sponsored Programs Administration 

Members from the University Community: 

• Ramon Gil-Garcia, Director, Center for Technology in Government 
• Barbara J. Zampella, Research Facilitator, Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences 
• June A. Mastan, Director, Professional Development Program 

• Reconfigure and automate manual processes 

• Improve the use of existing systems and integrate with new technologies 

• Website content and structure reform for more transparent, efficient and effective user experience

Reconfigure and automate manual processes 

Improve the use of existing systems and integrate with new technologies

Website content and structure reform for more transparent, efficient and effective user experience

Co-chairs:

• Terrell D. Rabb, Interim Director, Office of Regulatory and Research Compliance 

• Gary Ackerman, Associate Professor, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security & Cybersecurity 

Members:  

• Erin M. Bell, Interim Assistant Vice President (Research Compliance) 

• Tom Begley, Professor of Biological Sciences, Associate Director of The RNA Institute, College of Arts & Sciences 

• Lauren Cole, Director, Research Foundation Human Resources 

• Jerry Gauriloff, Director of Post-award Services, Sponsored Programs Administration 

• Paula Kaloyeros, Assistant Vice President for Sponsored Programs Administration & Deputy Operations Manager 

• Christine McCrary, Interim Associate Director for Research Administration, Sponsored Programs Administration 

• Theresa A. Pardo, Associate Vice President for Governance of Institutes, Centers & Specialized Labs, and Research Data 

• Thecla Philip, Senior Associate for Finance & Administration 

• Maria Pidgeon, Interim Director, Office of Economic Development 

Our mission is to prioritize changes to institutional processes that will strengthen UAlbany’s research, scholarship and creative pursuits. The Division’s processes for research administration must not hinder UAlbany’s efforts to be a leader in addressing societal challenges, advancing human knowledge, and driving innovation and discovery. 

Processes will be prioritized for change that are identified as hindering the University's recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and graduate students who can strongly contribute to distinctive disciplinary and interdisciplinary research programs — especially those programs that drive entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships and translational application.  

Changes proposed or made to processes will need to be evaluated to ensure new procedures will empower faculty, staff and students to engage in innovative research and will enhance research infrastructure. 

In addition to regular obligations, members will need to budget considerable time to the team to achieve the expected outcomes.  It will also be essential to communicate and coordinate with the efforts of the other Task Force teams to avoid duplication of efforts.