Research and Innovation undergoes transformation, enhances enterprise growth
Over the past few months, Virginia Tech announced several organizational changes to further accelerate progress toward the university’s goal of being recognized as a top-100 global research university. To better support the research mission and presidential goal, the research enterprise, led by Virginia Tech’s Senior Vice President and Chief Research and Innovation Officer Dan Sui, is undergoing a transformation.
At the January State of the University address, President Tim Sands praised Hokies for resilience and research advancements at a historic time, including the launch of the Virginia Tech Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering. “Our vision for the university’s future is comprehensive and wide-ranging, and research is the field that will get us there,” he said. “I believe we stand on the cusp of our next great opportunity – to become a leading global research university with a highly integrated learning, discovery, and engagement mission.”
“The restructuring of Research and Innovation will promote a customer-centric, service-oriented culture to provide stronger support for the research community, accelerating our progress toward achieving the university’s strategic goal of becoming a top-100 global research university,” said Sui. “The changes work to streamline research development, the infrastructure of operations and business units, and enhance internal and external communications. The new organizational structure mirrors a similar structural hierarchy of successful research peer institutions.”
Effective this month, the following changes reflect goals and priorities that seek to further expand the research mission of the university.
Randy Heflin, the newly appointed senior associate vice president for Research and Innovation, will oversee core infrastructural and faculty-facing offices and operations, including Research Development Support, the Animal Care and Resources Division, the Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance, and the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance. These duties will build on Heflin’s engagement in research development, providing a platform for faculty success in research.
Laurel Miner has been promoted to assistant vice president for Research and Innovation and will oversee several operational units for the office, including marketing and communications; information technology, support, and data services; electronic research administration, postdoctoral affairs, and administrative support and event coordination. These duties are coupled with Miner’s current role as chief of staff for Sui.
Additional promotions include Odie Fthenos to senior director of finance and Lindsey Haugh to senior director of marketing and communications for Research and Innovation. These promotions reflect Fthenos and Haugh’s leadership roles within administrative units and across Virginia Tech’s research institutes and university-level centers.
