UGA’s Sponsored Projects Administration has a new permanent executive director in Jill Tincher, who was selected from a highly competitive applicant pool following a national search and started in her current role June 17.
Since 2014, Tincher has served as the executive director of a large pre-award staff in the research administration office at the University of Miami. At UGA, she will be tasked with continuing the integration of SPA’s pre- and post-award functions, along with streamlining the delivery of existing services and rolling out new offerings to faculty and staff.
Tincher comes to UGA with 25 years of experience in “cradle to grave” research program management, as well as significant volunteer and leadership work with the field’s major professional organization, the National Council of University Research Administrators.
“We are thrilled to have recruited an individual of Jill’s caliber and experience to lead Sponsored Projects Administration as it continues to evolve to meet the needs of a growing research enterprise,” said David Lee, vice president for research. “Thanks in part to transitional leadership provided by Carl Bergmann, Nancy Manley and Cathy Cuppett, sponsored research administration at UGA has taken major strides over the last few years. I am confident Jill will help to consolidate and build upon these improvements, as we strive to provide world-class service to our research community.”
“When I came for my interview, I met so many people from different aspects of the institution, from senior leadership to administrative staff, and everyone was invested in helping UGA grow and making certain the university was doing things the right way,” Tincher said. “I was bowled over by all of that, and I thought to myself, this is going to be the perfect fit for me.”
Tincher said her first priorities include supporting a 40-person SPA team that has dealt with significant changes in the past few years, including both physical and administrative relocations as well as the process changes involved with OneSource implementation.
