Spooky Research Administrators
With the “spooky” season upon us, we asked the members of the Catalyst Committee to tell us about the spookiest stuff about their job!
Carly Pigg, CRA, Research Financial Analyst, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
I switched from the School of Nursing to the School of Medicine in May. In my new position, my office is located on the same floor as a cadaver lab. One day when I was walking to the conference room, people were working on an eye in the lab. They were projecting it on the big screen so everyone in the lab (and those passing by) could see.
Betty Morgan, Sponsored Projects Analyst, Pre-Award, The George Washington University
I was on my way to the fourth floor of the very old building that I worked in on campus. The elevator was notorious for being out of order. As it slowly climbed to the fourth floor, it stalled between two floors. There were three of us in the elevator and for some unknown reason, we started to jump up and down to try to make the elevator move. No such luck. We had to use the elevator “bat phone” to call for help! Firefighters arrived and pried the door open. We could see them, but because we were between floors there was not enough space to allow us to crawl out. As the hours ticked by, we ordered pizza for lunch and dined in the elevator. Shortly after lunch the elevator regained composure and we were safely delivered to our fourth-floor destination. (I took the stairs from that day forward!)
While meeting with a principal investigator to discuss a complex proposal, I was asked if I would like a tour of the university as it had a large veterinary school. Eager to see more of this state-of-the-art facility, I happily agreed. Some of the stranger things I saw on the tour included cows with clear, glass bellies munching grass in a green pasture, dogs being fitted with prosthetics and learning to walk again, and a very large and colorful iguana taking a
piggyback ride into a building.
Terry Campbell, Assistant Vice-President, Research Services, University of Ottawa
One of the spookiest parts of my job at the University of Ottawa is navigating the university’s labyrinth of underground tunnels and overhead corridors. They are great for keeping out the Canadian winters and spring storms, but the lack of signage and dark, winding corridors makes travelling a challenge. One day during a major windstorm when I was on my way to an important meeting, I got completely turned around in the maze and ended up pretty much where I had started. In the second go ‘round I went the outdoor route, arriving windblown, frazzled, and very late.
Authored by SRAI Catalyst Committee