500 Staff Gather for Research Symposium

A record number of staff members gathered at the Durham Convention Center on Tuesday as part of Duke’s seventh annual Symposium for Research Administrators. 

The event hit a new record of 500 attendees, up more than 100 from 2014’s previous record of 375. The symposium, sponsored by Duke’s Research Administration Continuous Improvement (RACI) initiative, welcomed employees from across the university and health system, providing a unique opportunity to meet colleagues, learn about latest news and best practices in research administration and engage in professional development.

A dozen breakout sessions included topics covering tips for grant managers, how to take advantage of resources to improve workflow and how to work with faculty more effectively.

“You work for Duke because you want to be part of something larger than yourself,” Tim Walsh, RACI chair and vice president for finance at Duke, told the group of staff who work behind the scenes to handle compliance, grants and regulations. “You stand on the front line as our faculty focuses on research to make this world a better place.” 

The theme for this year’s event was “Inside Out,” and was highlighted by a keynote presentation by Jennifer Shambrook, director of research programs and services at the University of Central Florida. A research administrator for nearly 30 years, Shambrook spoke about the changing experiences for colleagues across the country and shared details from a survey for administrators held every five years.

Latest details from Shambrook’s 2015 poll showed that 85 percent of research administrators were women, but educational experiences have been growing across the board. Nearly 46 percent research administrators held a master’s degree in the recent survey, up from 32 percent in 2005. The number of Certified Research Administrators has also grown, from 7.48 to 31.96 percent over the last 10 years.

“The profession is growing in a direction where we’re going to be better educated with more experience than ever,” Shambrook said, emphasizing the need to recruit new administrators from outside of academia to boost creative thinking. “The way to [recruit] is for us to talk about what we do, encourage folks from the outside to come in and when they do, surround them with our network to help them continue to learn.” 

Vanessa Hurston, a grants and contracts administrator with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said she wanted to attend the symposium to hear information like that. Staying current on trends and needs helps her perform work more effectively, she said.

“If I know the trends and rules, I can abide by them and it helps me feel more confident in my job,” Hurston said. “It encourages me to go further and excel in my career.”