Putting a face on research support
Arts & Science Associate Dean (Research & Graduate Studies) Graham Carr (centre) chats with Wilson Jacob (left), a historian whose thesis was on masculinity in Egypt, and Omri Moses, (English) who is writing a book called Fitful Character about impulsive figures in literature.
Photo by Kate Hutchinson
Every faculty member knows about the endless hours spent putting together grant applications. However, help is at hand. That was the message behind a convivial gathering given April 23 in the Science Complex by the Office of Research for about 30 recent hires.
Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies Louise Dandurand, Associate V-P Truong Vo-Van and Provost Martin Singer all emphasized their willingness and that of their staff to help faculty members build their own careers and Concordia’s research profile. Director Garry Milton told them the Office is restructuring to become more proactive in an increasingly competitive and complicated research environment.
Not content with introducing the staff of the Office and the research facilitators for the faculties, Milton introduced key staff members in other departments, from Payroll and Purchasing to Facilities Management and Environmental Health and Safety. He even introduced the editor of the Journal.
All of them play a role in supporting research at the university. Martine Lehoux, Director of Facilities Planning and Development, explained that until recently, the cost of physical modifications required by a research project was included in government agency funding. Not any more. If an estimate of the modifications isn’t included in the application, the launch of the project could be delayed.
Similarly, the Department of Human Resources is involved in paying students and technicians on funded projects. Knowing how employment contracts work is essential to a smoothly run research project. So is a good working relationship with Financial Services. From ethics compliance to hospitality and from library services to meeting the media, university research is a complex web of relationships.
The associate deans responsible for research in their faculties — Graham Carr, Rama Bhat, Bakr Ibrahim and Ana Cappelluto — enjoyed the reception.
Dandurand told the young researchers how much the university has grown, and said she looks forward to strengthening the bonds between research and graduate studies. The Provost reminded them that many hopes are pinned on their efforts. “Our expectations are enormous,” he said, adding, to chuckles, “No pressure.”
The Office has produced an excellent booklet outlining these auxiliary services for researchers and the coordinates of the relevant staff members. They also produced a compact disc with brief biographies of each of the researchers who were hired in 2006-07. This material is available at oor.concordia.ca/ under quick links.