Carl Bergmann, associate vice president for research-facilities, has been named interim director of pre- and post-award grant services, effective Feb. 15.
In this new role, Bergmann will report directly to Provost Pamela Whitten and will work closely with Vice President for Research David Lee and Vice President for Finance and Administration Ryan Nesbit to improve services provided to faculty as they pursue and manage external grants for research, scholarship and service activities.
As interim director of pre- and post-award grant services, Bergmann will be responsible for:
• Defining, coordinating and implementing process improvements in the pre- and post-award offices to best serve faculty members in the pursuit of new grant proposals and the management of funded awards.
• Assessing opportunities for managerial and productivity improvements within the pre- and post-award offices and identifying opportunities to better coordinate workflow across the offices.
• Working directly with the president and provost to develop an optimal long-term organizational structure to improve all grant-related services for UGA faculty.
The appointment of Bergmann is part of a campus-wide effort to streamline and enhance grants management at UGA, with the ultimate goal of boosting faculty productivity.
The Office for Sponsored Programs, which provides pre-award services, and the Contracts and Grants Division, which provides post-award services, will be housed in the same building later this semester. In recent months the two offices have increased the frequency of their regular meetings to improve coordination, launched new staff training and shadowing programs and have increased their outreach to departments.
In fall 2014, the university worked with an independent consulting group to follow up on the recommendations of a faculty/staff work group that reviewed operations associated with sponsored activities. These recommendations and the subsequent findings of the external consulting group are helping guide improvements to grant support at UGA.
“The appointment of Dr. Bergmann as interim director of pre- and post-award grant services reflects this institution’s continuing focus on ensuring that our faculty have the support they need to advance their research, scholarship and service activities,” Whitten said. “I am confident that his leadership, along with his perspective as a researcher, will significantly enhance the level of service and support that faculty receive.”
In his continuing role as associate vice president for research-facilities, which he assumed in 2008, Bergmann serves as the liaison between OVPR and UGA’s Facilities Management Division and the Office of University Architects.