From Hourly - Lab tech- lab specialist- grants admin- grants specialist- grants Manager - Administrator to Asst Director of Financial Management.  

I started as an hourly clerk typist for typing manuscripts and grant applications in a research lab. I worked part-time while I completed my BS degree. While in the lab I moved from the typist position to a lab specialist.  Yes I did small animal surgeries and preparations for data collections, preparing slides, and solutions etc.  I still prepared grant applications and post award tasks. 

After having children I decided I didn’t want to be on grant funding and starting looking for permanent funding positions. I was hired as a grants Administrator.  A position that just did pre and post award tasks. Since that first position I have moved up in Financial Management which includes all types of funding - non sponsored and sponsored funding.  From day one as an hourly to today, it has been 40 years.   It has had ups and downs but mostly I have enjoyed this career path.  



On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 12:45 PM Lisa Nye Chabot <xxxxxx@landmark.edu> wrote:

It’s a long and winding road…

 

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and went to work in a group home for adults with mental illness. They quickly realized I was a decent writer and put me on all kinds of writing projects – policies and procedures, marketing materials, and grant applications. Over 35 years I went from group home counselor to manager to director to development director to advancement director where I was responsible for all pre-award grant / funding application development and marketing. In that time the agency grew from @$500K organization employing about 40 people to $100M organization employing 1400 people. Along the way I completed a master’s degree in communication and leadership. But grant writing (pre-award) was always my first love. Looking for something closer to home and with less management (read manage people) responsibility, I applied for and was hired as the Director of Grants and Sponsored programs at Landmark College. Here it is small  - I am a one person shop doing both pre-award development and post-award administration. So not strictly research administration – but that is part of the mix.  

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Marjorie P Piechowski
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 12:07 PM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: [RESADM-L] one more career path

 

Reading all of these stories, I don't see anyone quite with my career path.  I was an English professor teaching, among other things, technical writing, and I got recruited by the grants office to (pro bono, voluntarily) view and edit proposals written by faculty whose native language was not English.  I found that it was much more interesting to read serious content written by passionate, committed adults rather than 500-word essays written by bored eighteen-year olds who didn't want to be taking English composition in the first place.  The faculty liked my work, so the grants office created a full-time position for me in proposal development.  Of course the job expanded into the whole of research administration, and I eventually moved up and on to two other universities.  Over the years I have worked with hundreds of faculty and thousands of proposals and still find that part of research administration the most rewarding and interesting. 

 

Marjorie

 

 

**************************************

Marjorie Piechowski, Ph.D.

Emerita Director of Research Support

College of Engineering & Applied Science

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

4985 North Iroquois Avenue

Milwaukee, WI  53217

phone:  414-963-9055

e-mail: xxxxxx@uwm.edu

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> on behalf of Betcher, Gina <xxxxxx@ECU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 6:31 PM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG>
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

My 2 cents: I am currently enrolled in a certification program in public writing because of its focus in grant writing. I'm not sure that is a disservice to the field, except if I had a graduate degree in research administration, I suspect that the curriculum would not tie to the reality of the career. 

 

The CPRA is memorization of federal regulations as pertains to pre award research administration. The certification program I am enrolled in stands to improve my understanding of research methods and ethics, public writing, stakeholders and outreach, and practical organizational skills in facilitating the practice of successful proposal writing. 

 

Gina Betcher, MFA, CPRA 

Sponsored Program Officer 

Office of Research Administration 

209 East 5th Street |Mail Stop 211 

Greenville, NC 27858-1821 

Office: 252-328-9535 | Fax: 252-328-0769 

xxxxxx@ecu.edu | Pronouns: she, her, hers 

 greenzone 

P Think before you print 

Be safe and protect others: Wash hands often, wear a mask, keep physical distance, work from home as much as possible, cover your cough 

#StayStrongNC and get the latest at nc.gov/covid19 

etracsLogin – https://rede.ecu.edu/ora/ 

 

 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> on behalf of Sweet, Steven <xxxxxx@VITALANT.ORG>
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 6:49 PM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG>
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

This email originated from outside ECU.

 

This is a topic I have been very interested in and passionate about for years, but have never been able to make traction with it.  As we are seeing from everyone’s responses – the vast majority of us “fall into” our roles as Research Administrators.  We then learn on the job and for some of us, continue on to get a CRA or graduate certificate/masters degree in one of the newer research administration programs that have popped up over the last 10 years.  This does a huge disservice to Research Administration as a field.  At most schools with a business program – there are clearly defined “choices” such as marketing, management, accounting, finance, but not one for research administration, which deserves to be its own since it incorporates aspects of all of the other fields.  This would not be a hard thing to add but focusing only on the graduate level (masters) really functions as a form of continuing education and doesn’t feed the bottom of the pipeline we all are expressing a need to have. 

 

For those of you at a University/College, perhaps involved in or that at least offers the graduate programs – I would love to discuss how to leverage my experiences (both within research administration and in education at the Harvard School of Public Health since 2002) to help get some true undergraduate education off the ground and have more people discover this and make it a career choice vs. stumbling upon it by chance and falling in love like we all have.  I think if we can get one school on board, more will follow (much like those graduate programs) and we can start to think about Research Administration as a career and what education is needed much like doctors and lawyers, with a clear path from start to finish including continuing education and really bolster the field. 

 

Just my 2 cents. 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Adam Carter
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 12:53 PM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

CAUTION: External email. Do not open attachments, click links, or reply to unknown senders.

 

I was a used car salesman. I sold a car to a friend of mine who happened to be in a Senior Management position within sponsored research. He was impressed by how I explained the financial contracts, loan terms, etc. and emailed me a couple days later about an open position in his OSP office. I went for it, and here I am, 10+ years later!

 

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I was presented, and that still guides my recruiting strategy today. I never shy away from folks with no directly relevant experience and I often pursue nontraditional methods of headhunting. Diamonds in the rough.

 

Best,

 

Adam Carter, MBA, CRA

Director, Research Administration and Operations

 

Division of Research

Marine Biological Laboratory

7 MBL Street   Woods Hole, MA 02543

United States of America

 

T 508.289.7301   C 207.669.2052

xxxxxx@mbl.edu

 

 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Teresa Newton
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 2:15 PM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

I’d be interested in hearing people’s stories about the path that brought them to research administration.

 

Teresa

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Teresa Newton

Oregon Health & Science University

Vollum Institute

e: xxxxxx@ohsu.edu

p: 503-494-5458

she/her

 

 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Callahan,Tricia
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 11:06 AM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [RESADM-L] [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

I have been at institutions where student workers in sponsored research then stayed in the career. I concur that having a student intern or work in sponsored research as a student is helpful in that it provides the student a look into the field so they know if it might be of interest and allows them to have some level of experience in sponsored programs when looking for a job, which may give them an advantage.

 

Great conversation,

 

signature_1405148772

 

Tricia Callahan, M.A., CRA

Senior Research Education & Information Officer

Pronouns: She/Her

Mailing Address:  2002 Campus Delivery | Fort Collins, CO 80523-2002

xxxxxx@colostate.edu| 970-491-1602

 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Remotigue, Robyn
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 11:07 AM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

This is all really good conversation.  There are very few positions that offer junior training experiences.  We just don’t learn about how-to’s of this job as an undergraduate.  At my previous institution, we did have one or two positions where we hired someone with no experience and trained them.   However, I largely see job announcements that want experience.

 

https://www.unthsc.edu/marketing-and-communications/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/GetAttachmentThumbnail-2.png

 

Robyn B. Remotigue, MPPA, CRA | Director

Office of Research Services

School of Public Health

a:  3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., EAD 731, Fort Worth, Texas 76107

p:  817.735.2759

https://www.unthsc.edu/school-of-public-health/

Pronouns:  she/her/hers

 

Please be advised that SPH Office of Research Services Team is working remotely in response to COVID-19.  ORS can be reached via email, Teams and Zoom.

 

 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Andrea Comley
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 11:33 AM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: [EXT] Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

I’d like to expand the discussion on this.  I have some individuals coming out of college (Bachelor’s) who I am encouraging to look at positions in research administration; however, many of the positions are requiring a minimum number of years of experience in the field.  Are institutions offering truly entry level research admin positions and if so, how are you qualifying your experience requirements for these types of positions?  If we are offering training for this type of position in the field, are you able to direct them to how to enter the field?  More of a curiosity but also hoping to lead more individuals to this great profession!  

 

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> on behalf of "Rhea,Lacey N" <xxxxxx@UFL.EDU>
Reply-To: Research Administration Discussion List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG>
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 5:34 AM
To: "xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG" <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG>
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

Cristina –

 

I have not seen any developed material designed for prospective professionals interested in beginning a career in research administration.  Your student has accurately identified a gap that our profession has not done a very good job of filling yet.  Sometime in the coming months I’m planning a presentation for my institution designed to guide non-research admins in entry-level positions to our profession, but that is probably not helpful for your student at the moment. 

 

This topic is high on my professional priority list, so please share any materials you discover on this topic with the listserv.  Best of luck!

_________________________________________________________________

Lacey |RA Manager|Physics|Phone: 352-294-3072|Email: xxxxxx@ufl.edu

P Think before you print!

 

From: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG> On Behalf Of Cristina Oliveira
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 4:21 AM
To: xxxxxx@LISTS.HRINET.ORG
Subject: [RESADM-L] RMA for bachelor students

 

[External Email]

Hello! I am currently teaching a course about Research Management and Administration at NOVA University Lisbon targeted to the bachelor students. This is a new educational offer in Portugal and it is been developed in the frame of the ERASMUS+ funded project foRMAtion - https://www.formation-rma.eu/.

One of my students wants to create promotional materials for students to raise awareness about the profession (as she feels that it could be a great job opportunity, but totally unknown by the students). As far as I know, there is not particular promotional material (such as videos, social media channels, leaflets,...) for this target audience, since most of the materials are for the ones already in the profession. But, does anyone know any material about RMA for students?

Thank you in advance,

Cristina Oliveira - NOVA Lisbon University

 

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--
Jeanette Acree, CRA
Asst. Dir. of Financial Mgmt.
VCU Massey Cancer Center

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