Introducing the New Catalyst Sections & Feature Editors
Grant Development & Strategy
Hi, my name is Jose Alcaine, and I am Kimberly Read. We are delighted, thankful, and honored to serve as Catalyst feature co-editors for the section entitled “Grant Development & Strategy.” As co-editors, we look forward to hearing from you, the research administration (RA) experts in the field, about interesting concepts, issues, work, activities, etc., happening in your neck of the woods. Do you have something to share about your grant development efforts or pre-award issues you are having? Well then, we look forward to hearing about it and sharing this information with the field. You will be surprised how much of what you have to say and share will resonate with the RA field. As it has been in the past, the Catalyst is here for you to share and get the word out about your practice to colleagues who will benefit from what you say (sorry, write). So send those articles in! You may also hear from us as we recruit authors with specific expertise.
Speaking of sharing, here’s a little bit from Jose. I currently serve as the director of research services and as an affiliate faculty within the Department of Foundations of Education for the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. In this role, my duties involve extensive pre-award functions and post-award programmatic tasks, including research development, proposal preparation and submission, and faculty and graduate student professional development programming. Since 2017, I have also served as an adjunct instructor for VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, where I teach a grants management course, research methods, intro to public policy, and other related topics. I have worked at both the school and central level and have gained extensive experience in higher education and research administration in other positions at VCU as well as at Tulane University in my hometown of New Orleans, where I worked in support of academic, research and clinical faculty as well as doctoral fellows in the School of Medicine.
I am also active in service at the school and university level through leadership positions in committees and other campus groups, and in national, professional organizations and societies, including the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP), and the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI). I am a recipient of the 2023 SRAI Excellence Award and was also recognized as a member of the Distinguished Faculty for the Society. I have also served on other committees and workgroups at SRAI and was a founding member of the SRAI Virginia Special Interest Group (VA SIG) in 2024. Virginia SIG colleagues and I are currently planning a meeting for the summer of 2025 in Richmond, Virginia.
Here are a few words from Kimberly. I am the assistant chair of operations for the Department of Child & Family Studies at the University of South Florida (USF). I have worked at USF for almost 25 years, garnering extensive experience in business, research administration, and human resources. I received my PhD from USF in higher education administration and hold an MBA from the University of Maryland. As part of my responsibilities, I direct the department’s research administration, including research development and pre- and post-award work.
I have been a member of SRAI and a CRA since 2010, and I regularly present at SRAI annual and section meetings and lead SRAI webinars. In June 2022, I received the SRAI Distinguished Faculty Award. In 2023, I served as the President of the SRAI Southern section. I have served on the Catalyst Committee since 2023, so I am very excited to be appointed as a pre-award editor for 2025.
In closing, Jose writes, “I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the RA field as feature co-editor for the Catalyst and look forward to spreading the word to the RA community and beyond.”
Kimberly shares, “SRAI has so many wonderful people with diverse experiences. I am looking forward to engaging even more of our members in sharing your voices and experiences.”
See you on the e-pages soon!