Research & Innovation
Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, Senior Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, leads the Research and Innovation Functional Integration Team (FIT). To guide the discovery and design effort, Potter has launched working groups within this FIT focused on identifying quick wins, recommending solutions, planning implementation steps, and sequencing integration initiatives on a comprehensive roadmap.
Integration Updates
Update
Date
Research & innovation – March 2026
- Strategic Research Initiatives Working Group – Developed and advanced recommendations to establish a streamlined limited submission process.
- Research Administration & Operations Working Group – Achieved 53% completion of HOP/IHOP alignment and finalized a comprehensive inventory of research administration information management system.
- Innovation & Strategic Partnerships Working Group – Completed implementation of a project and workflow management system to enhance coordination and efficiency.
- Communications & Marketing Working Group – Strengthened leadership capacity with the hiring of Wesley Elliot as director of communications.
Research & Innovation – November 2025
- Functional Integration Team (FIT) launched, members include Claudia Delgado, Siobhan Fleming and Anthony Francis.
- Three working groups have been established to focus on key priorities:
- Strategic Research Initiatives: identify and align research programs across both campuses. This effort is designed to strengthen collaboration.
- Research Administration & Operations: assess, align, and integrate administrative and operational functions that support research activities across both campuses. This initiative aims to build cohesive and efficient service models, optimize the use of institutional resources, and ensure consistent delivery of high-quality support to faculty and research staff.
- Innovation & Strategic Partnerships: enhance and unify efforts that advance research commercialization, industry collaboration, and strategic alliances across both campuses. This initiative focuses on fostering a cohesive innovation ecosystem that accelerates technology translation, expands partnership opportunities, and amplifies the economic and societal impact of institutional research. Through this effort, we will align programs, leverage shared resources, and strengthen the infrastructure that supports a dynamic and collaborative innovation enterprise.