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David Stone, Dara Little earn new titles

November 29, 2010

Lisa Freeman, vice president for Research and Graduate Studies, has announced two personnel changes in the division that became effective Nov. 1.

David Stone now holds the title of associate vice president for research/director of the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP). Dara Little’s new title is associate director of the Office of Sponsored Projects.

These changes were instituted as part of an effort to align titles with roles and responsibilities in a way that is meaningful to both internal and external stakeholders.

“In coming to understand what David Stone and Dara Little have been doing individually and collectively, and in thinking about how we plan to continue to grow and support the research enterprise at NIU, it became clear that these changes were necessary and appropriate,” said Freeman, who anticipates the position descriptions for Stone and Little will remain works in progress and continue to evolve.

David Stone

David Stone

As the associate vice president for research, Stone will retain overall responsibility for OSP, but he will focus his attention on the developmental aspects of the NIU research enterprise.

Stone will be expected to play a significant role on both of the new advisory bodies: the Research, Instruction and Public Service Advisory Council and the Research and Graduate Studies Development Council.

He will work closely with the research development specialists to further develop their ability to assist in the development of effective proposals, to improve research development infrastructure and capacity to compete effectively for larger multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and multi-institutional grant proposals.

He will work closely with the associate vice president for Graduate Studies/dean of the Graduate School to develop graduate training programs capable of attracting extramural funding. He also will work with associate deans, center directors and research active faculty members to facilitate development of multidisciplinary collaborative proposals and to enable collaboration across departments and colleges.

Stone will support Freeman’s efforts to develop external partnerships with corporations, health center, federal labs, foundations, municipalities and universities and to foster closer relationships with federal and state agencies. In addition, Stone will be expected to develop and implement educational and training initiatives in the areas of research and research development. He also will continue to serve on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Intellectual Property (IP) committee.

Dara Little

Dara Little

As the associate director of OSP, Little will be responsible for all of the day to day operations of OSP. She will continue to maintain oversight of InfoEd, the electronic research administration package used by the division. All OSP staff will report directly to her.

She will have final review and signature authority for all proposals and agreements flowing through OSP. She will be in charge of the development and implementation of policies affecting pre-award operations, and she will have primary responsibility for serving as OSP liaison to other administrative entities on campus; in this capacity, she will continue her efforts to improve communication and coordination between OSP and Grants Fiscal Administration (GFA).

Little also will serve on the newly constituted Research and Graduate Studies Development Council, and will continue her role on the Responsible Conduct of Science (RCS) and Institutional Bio-Safety (IBC) committees.