Pam Miller, USF’s new director of sponsored projects, will begin her position in January with eyes on more than one prize. Hired to help faculty negotiate bureaucratic red tape in their search for government and corporate funding, Miller says the university’s service-oriented work could be a big fund winner.
“USF has some unique characteristics to draw upon such as its commitment to diversity and the potential for finding funding in the international domain,” Miller said. “There are also people working with children with disabilities and the university’s centers have a lot of potential for attracting outside funding.”
Miller brings more than 15 years of experience as a grants research specialist, most recently as a director of sponsored research at the University of Southern Mississippi. Miller is the first director of USF’s newly established Office of Sponsored Projects. Carmen Silva, the office’s assistant director, assumed her position Oct. 7.
“I know Dr. Miller’s interest in working with faculty to develop proposals will help USF’s faculty to secure funding. I am sure we will all be hearing much more about the Office of Sponsored Projects in the coming months,” said Robert Niehoff, S.J., associate provost and vice president of planning and budget, and a member of the committee that hired Miller.
Miller said she was attracted to USF because of its commitment to serving the community and because of its proximity to other research universities, such as Stanford and UC Berkeley, that could be partners with USF in seeking funding.
“The projects that get funded now are multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary, and often include multiple partners,” Miller said.
Rather than write proposals for faculty, Miller will assist them in navigating the grants process and in editing and suggesting improvements to proposals. “The important thing is to have a faculty member who will act as a driving force behind a project,” Miller said.
Miller said the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation will be two of the biggest sources of funds in the near future, given the government’s concern over biological weapons attacks by terrorists.
