Becoming a 21st Century Research Institution: Office for Research Staff Visits Rutgers-Camden
Office for Research meets with Rutgers-Camden researchers to discuss how Rutgers supports researchers' scholarships and creative endeavors as it becomes a 21st Century Research Institution.
Office for Research (OfR) and Rutgers-Camden leaders provided a whole day of workshops to Camden researchers on the many ways in which the OfR supports the important work being conducted at the university as it continues its path to becoming a 21st century research institution.
“We are working to make Rutgers a 21st century research institution, which is one that is more deliberately designed, that supports interdisciplinary collaboration, our principal investigators, faculty, postdocs, and students, that provides clarity about what is centrally supported and what is locally supported, and that has much the best research core facilities that are available to all researchers,” said Michael E. Zwick, PhD, senior vice president for research.
Zwick, Rutgers-Camden Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis, PhD, and Camden’s vice chancellor for research Thomas S. Risch, PhD, opened the meeting with remarks and answered questions from the Camden researchers in attendance about the vision for the research enterprise both at Camden and Rutgers overall.
“We appreciated the opportunity to meet and hear from Dr. Zwick and the Office for Research team,” said Risch. “The research teams here at Camden and centrally want to be part of our researchers’ teams, to help them accomplish their goals and advance their research. We will continue to work together to develop and implement a very clear vision of where we are going and how to align our research with our campus goals, our regional goals, and national trends.”
“The research conversation event demonstrates a strong commitment to integrating Camden into the university’s broader research enterprise,” said David Salas-de la Cruz, PhD, associate professor of Chemistry and director of the Chemistry graduate program at Rutgers-Camden. “Hosting this event on our campus highlights our dedication to preparing students to be both career-ready and research-ready, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in any profession. Engaging faculty in discussions on topics such as grants, startups, regional and national research opportunities, and potential capital investments was essential for expanding our educational programs, strengthening our research capabilities, and enhancing our laboratory core portfolio to better serve the needs of the South Jersey region.”
Zwick and Risch were later joined by Camden researchers Nir Yakoby, PhD (professor of Biology), Julie Griepenburg, PhD (assistant professor of Physics), and Mavis Asiedu-Frimpong, JD, MPH (director of the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs), for a panel titled Becoming a 21st Century Research Institution: Next Steps.
Prior to the keynote panel, team leaders from various OfR departments – Research Administration, Research Contract Services, Research Financial Services, Research Relationships, New Ventures, Technology Transfer, and Universitywide Core Services – conducted breakout sessions with their counterparts from Rutgers-Camden where they covered topics such as pre-award, post-award, compliance, and core services and innovation at Rutgers, and answered questions from the Camden researchers in attendance.
The Office for Research will visit the other three Rutgers chancellor-led units in the near future.
