DAWG program enhances sponsored-project admin
The latest Departmental Administrator Working Group graduates are (seated, l-r) Heriberto Gonzalez Lozano, Dianne Phillips, Lynn Eiland, Mashala Pulliam and Shonda Cumberland; and (standing, l-r) Katie Sisk, Jada McMullen, Kathryn McTaggart, Erin Ray, Nicole Medeiros, Merri Kilpatrick and Amanda Baine. PHOTO: Russ Houston | Public Affairs
Thirteen Mississippi State staff members are graduates of the third-annual professional development program offered by the university’s Office of Sponsored Programs Administration.
A unit of the Office of Research and Economic Development, SPA oversees externally-sponsored programs -- the grants, contracts and similar agreements that help fund research at the land-grant institution.
This year’s edition of the Departmental Administrator Working Group -- also known as DAWG -- involved a nine-month curriculum designed to develop participants’ sponsored-project administration skills and foster networking opportunities with campus peers, according to SPA director Jennifer Easley.
“We started DAWG to provide a resource that helps departmental administrators grow professionally and create additional connections between departments and across campus,” she said.
Honored at a May 28 campus reception, the 2015 graduates included Amanda Baine, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems; Shonda Cumberland, Computer Science and Engineering; Kimberly Dickey, Sponsored Programs Accounting; Lynn Eiland, Research and Curriculum Unit; Heriberto Gonzalez Lozano, International Institute; and Merri Kilpatrick, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Others were Jada McMullen, Sponsored Programs Accounting; Katheryn McTaggart, Human Sciences; Nicole Medeiros, Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture; Dianne Phillips, Mechanical Engineering; Mashala Pulliam, High Performance Computing Collaboratory; Erin Ray, Human Sciences; and Katie Sisk, MAFES/FWRC Administration.
Applications for the 2016 class will be made available later this summer, Easley said, explaining that participants are chosen through a competitive nomination and selection process.
During classes meeting for two hours each month, DAWG members are taken through the grant administration process to gain a better understanding of both pre- and post-award functions. Topics include how the different offices work together to prepare budgets, administrate research proposals and conduct post-award management, among other key areas.
Easley said this year’s graduates also gave 10-minute presentations about themselves and their departments, which “gave everyone in the room a chance to see just how many areas Mississippi State is involved with -- locally, statewide, nationwide and internationally.”
For more about Sponsored Programs Administration, visit www.spa.msstate.edu.
As the state’s flagship research university, MSU is a recognized leader in a number of fields, and well known for productive partnerships, real-world impact, and offering undergraduate and graduate students unique research opportunities. In FY 2013, MSU’s research and development expenditures totaled $206 million -- representing nearly half of all R&D by higher education in the state, according to National Science Foundation data.
Discover more about Mississippi's flagship research university at www.msstate.edu or www.meridian.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate using the hashtag #WeRingTrue.
Jim Laird | Public Affairs
