REGION IV PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Mentoring Our Own
(MOO)
MOO provides members who are new to research administration with access to guidance from experienced professionals, and provides senior-level members with the opportunity to share their expertise one-on-one with the emerging leaders in our field. This program is also beneficial to those who have experience in the field and want to expand their knowledge, or have changed positions and need to develop skills in a new area of research administration.
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Sponsored by the Professional Development Committee.
Annual Spring Meeting
The annual Region IV Spring Meeting of the membership provides three and a half days of high-quality education and networking. The conference is preceded by a full day of workshops taught by experienced Region IV research administrators.
Organized by the conference program committee.
Traveling Workshops
Region IV is taking some of its most popular workshops on the road to provide access to research administrators in small local regions.*
Sponsored by the Professional Development Committee.
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*If your institution is interested in joining a waitlist or discussing a future workshop, please contact us at mentoring@ncuraregioniv.com.
Research Administration Career Path Pilot Program
As a whole, the field of academic research administration is under-resourced. The Research Administration Career Path (RACP) Pilot Program is a professional talent management process that aims to recruit a broader and more diverse demographic of people to seek employment in this field. The program’s goal is to provide recommended pathways into the profession, from education and preparation to identification of institution types, functional areas, and position types with associated skill sets.
Career Services
The Career Services working group is working toward determining the best methods for communicating with career centers at colleges and universities to raise awareness of the profession, with the goal of connecting with students. Our group is developing materials for use in speaking with campus career centers about how to best reach students who have skills that match this profession.
Accomplishments
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Reached out to various University Career Service Center Offices to determine what materials would be helpful to highlight the research administration field to students.
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An infographic was designed to disseminate to students that highlights the student benefits to join the rewarding career.
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Created social media videos featuring current research administrators. Tara Bishop captured during the 2023 Spring Meeting in Sioux Falls, SD:
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NCURA Next Generation project provided an infographic for students that was created by the NCURA Young Professionals group.
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Universities could recruit current research administrators or alumnus to speak in university introductory classes. Below is some text they could use:
Are you a research administrator interested in helping others learn about what we do? Are you passionate about your work? Are you a skilled communicator with strong presentation skills?
If so, then this is the perfect volunteer opportunity for you! We are looking for research administrators interested in speaking at university classes or events to amplify and grow our profession!
Please email _______________/sign up ___________________ to be contacted for this exciting opportunity. -
Region IV is participating in the NCURA Next Generation Project by having five Region IV universities provide members to staff booths at Career Fairs to promote the field.
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Conducted a survey to determine what members thought is currently being done to promote the field.
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St. Ambrose University in Iowa is currently working on an NSF GRANTED application with Regina Matheson as PI.
Career Services Working Group Members
Melanie Hebl, University of Wisconsin-Madison - Lead
Marlene Spires, University of Chicago
Angie Hester, University of Iowa
Regina Matheson, St. Ambrose University
Jennifer Foley, Medical College of Wisconsin
Diane Hillebrand, University of North Dakota
Sophia Dider, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Career Mapping
The Career Mapping working group is gathering information regarding the skills, experience, and education needed for entry-level research administration positions. We are also developing career pathway materials to best guide and assess qualifications and qualities needed for various paths in research administration.
Accomplishments
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Created infographics listing experience, education, and soft skills useful as a research administrator:
​Career Mapping Working Group Members
Katherine Durben, Marquette University - Lead
Amalie Helms, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Emily Bacon, University of Cincinnati
Heather Offhaus, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Cally Wolma Lee, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Sandra Fowler, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Erica Kennedy, John Carroll University
Student Internships
The Student Internships working group is exploring ways in which organizations can introduce undergraduate and graduate students to the research administration profession through internship programs.
Accomplishments
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Created a best practice guide and job description for student interns for all areas of research administration that can be revised to include staff interns.
Student Internships Working Group Members
Megan Fillbrandt, Gustavus Adolphus College – Lead​
Crystal James, Medical College of Wisconsin
Iris Dickhoff-Peper, Washington University in St. Louis
Cristina Goldsmith, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Carol Herbert, University of Chicago
Jessica Raines-Jones, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Media
The Media working group supports the Student Internships, Career Services, and Career Mapping units in the development of videos, toolkits, and other materials or media to be shared with organizations and posted on websites.
Accomplishments
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Created a video of a recent graduate who has entered a research administration career.
Media Working Group Members
Kelly Andringa, University of Iowa - Lead
Barbara Bittner, Creighton University
Katie Schortgen, The Ohio State University
Sasha Lawson, University of Missouri
Will Edwards, Northwestern University
A huge thank you goes out to all that have worked on the RACP Pilot Program. The work that has been completed could not have been done without the volunteers. Many people have rolled on and off the project for various reasons and your help has been appreciated over the two years of this project. ~ Diane Hillebrand, Pilot Lead
For more information on the Research Administration Career Path Pilot Program, contact Julie Olivero at jolivero@umich.edu.