Dear Colleagues,
As a leading research university with membership in the Association for American Universities (AAU), we have prioritized the continued improvement of our research administrative infrastructure in order to enhance support for, and amplify the impact of, our world-class scholars. A strong administrative infrastructure is critical to assisting faculty throughout all phases of a project—from developing proposals to managing sponsored awards.
In an effort to elevate the level of service that faculty receive, and in response to feedback from our research community, we are pleased to announce a number of enhancements that will strengthen school-level research support, facilitate collaboration across teams and central units, and better meet the needs of our growing and evolving research portfolio.
These enhancements will not reduce current staffing levels or impact the primary points of contact for research support.
The following framework is effective February 1, 2025 and will be fully implemented over the coming weeks:
Renaming Pods as Research Support Teams (RSTs) and Realigning Portfolios
- Pod 1 becomes the Arts and Sciences Research Support Team
- Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
- Elliott School of International Affairs
- School of Business
- Graduate School of Education and Human Development
- College of Professional Studies
- Libraries and Academic Innovation
- Non-school units
- Pod 2 becomes the Public Health and Law Research Support Team
- Milken Institute School of Public Health (including the Biostatistics Center)
- GW Law
- Pod 3 becomes the Medical Research Support Team
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences
- School of Nursing
- A new Engineering Research Support Team
- School of Engineering and Applied Science
Creation of a Fourth Research Support Team within the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)
- This new team will merge existing SEAS award management staff with newly appointed pre-award staff.
Creation of an Integrated Reporting Structure for Research Support Teams
- Each RST will be led by an RST manager—a new senior staff position that manages the team’s administrative activities.
- RST managers will report directly to the lead school’s dean or a dean’s designee and will have a dotted reporting line to the Vice Provost for Research.
- The integrated reporting structure will create consistency across RSTs and help clarify roles and responsibilities.
Establishment of a Research Operations Committee to Coordinate Sponsored Research Activities
- A new operations committee will include RST managers, RST leaders (i.e., deans or dean’s designee), and leadership from OVPR and other campus partners.
- The committee will focus on implementation and ongoing evaluation of RSTs as well as necessary collaboration between the RSTs and central administrative offices.
Faculty will continue to initiate sponsored research activities through their assigned research support team and within myResearch. SEAS investigators are encouraged to continue working with their current pre- and post-award staff and they will receive additional guidance as the new Engineering RST is established.
Any investigator that is unsure of their RST assignment or has more general questions about research administration should contact [email protected].
Please note that we will continue to identify areas to improve administrative support for research, and implement additional changes as necessary. We also plan to conduct a “pulse check” later this spring to assess the efficacy of this first round of enhancements.
Thank you for your continued engagement and for your contributions to the success of GW’s research mission.
Christopher Alan Bracey
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Law
Robert H. Miller
Interim Vice Provost for Research
Vivian Gill Distinguished Research Professor and Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology