APLU Council on Research Names New Cohort of CoR Research Leader Fellows

The APLU Council on Research has named eight research leaders to its fourth cohort of CoR Research Leader Fellows. APLU’s Council on Research (CoR), which is comprised of senior research officers at the nation’s public research universities, created the fellowship to enable individuals who are new vice presidents, vice chancellors, or vice provosts for research, or aspiring to these positions, to develop critical new knowledge and skills. The new fellows, who join three previous cohorts of fellows, were selected earlier this summer and introduced at the 2021 CoR Virtual Summer Meeting.

“We are excited to welcome a new cohort of CoR Research Leader Fellows, especially after the program was paused for a year during the pandemic,” said Washington State University Vice President for Research Chris Keane, who serves as Chair of CoR. “The CoR Research Leader Fellowship Program has become a sought-after leadership development opportunity and we are grateful to collegial community of research leaders who sponsor, host, and mentor the fellows throughout the year.”

The CoR Research Leader Fellowship helps rising research leaders develop expertise in areas outside of their current research-related responsibilities. Because many universities have segmented research support organizations, rising research leaders often oversee relatively confined areas such as research administration, research development, research compliance, research communication, economic development, or sponsored programs. The fellowship allows these research leaders to gain expertise outside of their respective portfolios and fosters connections with CoR’s extensive network of senior research officers through site visits and participation in CoR meetings. The fellowship lasts 12 months.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our new cohort of fellows,” said APLU Executive Vice President Howard Gobstein, who leads the association’s research policy and STEM education efforts. “We applaud this year’s fellows for their remarkable achievements to date. The CoR Fellows program is designed to help them take their leadership to the next level. The fellowships are a critically important CoR effort, helping to cultivate the next generation of public research university leaders and build institutional capacity.”

The 2021 CoR Research Leader Fellows are:

• Kelly J. Clifton, Interim Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Portland State University.
• Shelome Gooden, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research in the Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Related Fields, University of Pittsburgh.
• Todd Hagobian, Associate Vice President of Research, California Polytechnic State University.
• Kathleen Halvorsen, Associate Vice President for Research Development, Michigan Technological University.
• Susan McDowell, Vice Provost for Research, Ball State University.
• Sangita Pawar, Vice President for Research Operations, University of Arizona.
• Mark Reed, Interim Associate Vice President of Research Operations, San Diego State University.