Several changes in leadership and staffing will be of interest to research administrators across MIT.
Anne White embraces role dedicated to guiding research administration
Prof. Anne White has taken on the role of associate provost and associate vice president for research, focusing on research administration, as announced in mid-November following the departure of Krystyn Van Vliet to Cornell. Anne is the School of Engineering Distinguished Professor of Engineering, head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and co-chair of the MIT Climate Nucleus.
In this new role, Anne will dedicate her efforts to guiding MIT research administration, carrying forward the transformation of research administration begun in 2019. Anne oversees Research Administration Services (RAS), Research Administration Systems and Support, Research Development, and the Office of Strategic Alliances and Technology Transfer (OSATT, which comprises OSATT Core, the Technology Licensing Office, and Corporate Relations). Vivian Holmes, executive director of RAS, and Carol Wood, director of Research Administration Systems and Support, now report directly to Anne, along with the directors of OSATT and the director of research development.
Anne is deeply invested in supporting the needs of the research community through a service model that values partnership among PIs and administrators. Central to that work is an initiative to be led by Colleen Leslie, assistant provost for research administration, aiming to build research administration capacity and enhance coordination at the department, lab, and center level.
New leadership for RAS grant and contract administrator teams
In the November issue of this newsletter, we featured Nancy Sahagian, assistant director of grant and contract administration in RAS, who is planning to retire this spring after an impactful career of 14 years at MIT (and previously Boston Children’s Hospital). Nancy has played a leading role in managing RAS’ funding relationships with foundations and non-profit sponsors. She implemented and has overseen the team staffing model for the grant and contract administrators who are your day-to-day RAS points of contact. She also served as the RAS contract administrator for a portfolio of DLCIs.
As Nancy prepares to transition into retired life, we are delighted to welcome Denise Moody as an associate director of RAS. In fact, we welcome her back, as she was once a manager of contracts and grants, some years ago. Denise has held senior positions in research administration and research compliance at Princeton, Harvard, and Boston VA Research Institute. Denise will be overseeing the grant and contract administrator teams managed by Bernadette Vallely, Courtney Bensey, and Jamie Goldberg.
New lead liaisons
With Nancy’s departure, the lead liaisons for foundation and nonprofit sponsors are now Jamie Goldberg and Ruth Smith.
For reference, the complete list of lead liaisons is as follows:
- NIH: Bernadette Vallely
- NSF: Courtney Bensey
- DOE: Katrina McCarty, Mary McGonagle
- NASA: Stacey Sullaway
- DOD and Other Federal: Mike Corcoran
- Foundation and Nonprofit: Jamie Goldberg and Ruth Smith
- Industry: Laureen Horton
- International, USAID: Sharon Ray
- State and Local Government: Jamie Goldberg
Updated org charts
Updated organizational charts have been posted, illustrating the reporting relationships in VPR and in RAS.