The Power of the Panel
The Alabama-Mississippi Chapter gathered for our annual chapter meeting on June 10 after a two-year hiatus due to Covid. Hosted by The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), our group was welcomed to the Gulf Coast campus in Long Beach, Mississippi. Once a women’s college from 1921-1971, the property was eventually incorporated into USM. This sprawling beach-accessible campus dotted with shady oaks was the perfect place to escape the day-to-day settings of our own institutions and immerse ourselves in some much needed face-to-face professional development. After an enjoyable and lavish networking lunch, we started the afternoon with a chapter-wide attended panel session titled, “The Research Administration Taxonomy.” The session focused on the breadth and depth of research administration from many perspectives and helped communicate the need for collaboration across the spectrum. But, there was something different about this panel…
Represented by three institutions of higher education and one consulting firm, five individuals took on the role of a Pre-Award Central Office, Post-Award Central Office, College-Level Research Office, and a Department-Level Research Office. The moderator set the tone by posing situational questions to each representative, and after a few starter questions the real magic happened: an organic conversation began amongst the audience. Those who were once attendees now transformed into panelists and moderators themselves, thus reaching the goal of what we consider a successful panel. When the meeting planning committee organized the panel, seed questions were created to avoid any awkward silences or pauses, however we quickly found those were not needed. The energy in the room took over and far exceeded all expectations. Several members of the audience took turns standing up, asking a relatable question to the panel which was followed by the audience creating true communication and idea-sharing. Additionally, the passion and thought-provoking ideas were evident throughout the entire hour. This session could have easily extended into the rest of the afternoon had we not had other great speakers scheduled.
A panel can simply answer questions, or it can foster tremendous audience engagement. We believe the latter is more important. In that scenario, you get into concrete examples and issues we all face in our daily jobs. Finding new techniques or discussing existing policies is a great way to ensure research administration evolves right alongside with our ever-changing profession. We have found that these instances are also usually the icebreakers to building the longstanding professional relationships (often bleeding over to friendships) that help distinguish our careers. All of this ties back to the importance of not only maintaining memberships to professional organizations such as SRAI, but a reason why you should always look to expand your professional network. Especially in research administration, there is always going to be someone who has “been there, done that,” and if they have not yet, they will know someone who has!
There are already plans underway for the 2023 AL-MS Chapter Annual meeting to have another panel because of the excitement and success this year’s panel brought to the meeting. Perhaps finally being in person after two years contributed to a great conversation, but our opinion remains the same. . . Don’t underestimate the POWER of the PANEL!
Amanda Seymour, CRA, Senior Associate
Attain Partners, LLC
John Hedberg, CRA, Grants and Contracts Manager
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
#July2022#Membership#Catalyst