Associate Vice President, Research Administration

The Associate Vice President (AVP) for Research Administration leads university-wide research administration, policy development, and related compliance activities for the University of Minnesota, an AAU, globally engaged, R1 land-grant institution with over $1B in grants and contracts funded annually. Reporting to the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the AVP leads the Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) team and delivers a customer-centric approach to research administration and leverages data analytics, key tools, and systems to develop innovative solutions to facilitate operational excellence across pre- and post-award processes. The AVP works closely with various offices, departments, and colleges across the entire University of Minnesota system to ensure adherence to federal, state, and institutional standards for research proposals and awards. This individual acts as a policy owner for University-wide research administration policies, including regular updates and comprehensive reviews. They also serve as the institutional approver/signatory for F&A rate agreements, effort compliance, F&A waiver requests, exceptions to financial policy, and other relevant documents. Finally, the AVP provides research administration expertise to the University by serving on key institutional committees, including the Senate Research Committee, Research Security Committee, and Institutional Conflict of Interest Committee, among others. 

Nominations, applications, and inquiries are being accepted for the position, and recruitment will continue until the position is filled. Candidates must submit a curriculum vitae and cover letter. References will be requested later in the process but will only be contacted with the express permission of candidates. All inquiries, nominations, referrals, and curriculum vitae with cover letters will be held in strict confidence and should be submitted below.

Rebecca Kennedy is leading this search with Kristin Benoit and Cortnee Bollard.