"Raise your hand if you knew as a young child that you wanted to be a research administrator when you grew up?" I ask that question at every Basics training that I have taught over the years and have yet to have anyone raise their hand. (However, I did come close with a participant in the current class, who responded that their mother is a research administrator. In fact, I know of one other mother and son who are currently research administrators and there are likely more!) Fortunately, I expect the answer to that question to change as the next generation of research administrators are exposed to the career that helped shape and change my life.
Research administrators are "special" in a good way! We are decision makers. We are change agents. We are facilitators. We are teachers. We are organizers. We are partners. We are superheroes! Advanced degrees are now being offered for a profession that most, if not all of us, "fell into." I see that as serious progress and validation of one of the best professions in the whole wide world ... but we already knew that! And there is no better place to hone this profession than within the Society of Research Administrators International.
I have been involved in research administration at many different levels over the past 30 years, ranging from departmental administration to central administration, working my way up from Grants Management Specialist to Sr. Director within higher education, to my current position of Vice-President of Grants and Compliance at a private non-profit company. I can say unequivocally and without hesitation that I would never have been able to make these career advancements had it not been for my involvement with SRAI where I not only learned the profession but developed an invaluable network of colleagues across the world.
I served on the SRAI Board of Directors from 2011 to 2017 and am now running again for an At-Large seat. Serving on the Board of Directors will again provide me with an opportunity to pay it forward, as my mentors did, while allowing me to be part of shaping the Society for current and future research administrators as the profession continues to grow and evolve.
So hopefully, the next time I ask a group of people to "Raise your hand if you knew as a young child that you wanted to be a research administrator when you grew up," a flurry of hands will rise up into the air!
Authored by Judy Bristow, Vice-President, Grants and Compliance
Louisville Healthcare CEO Council
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