Director of Sponsored Research steps down from post

By Ly Hoang     2/12/09 6:00pm

Director of Sponsored Research Nancy Nisbett said farewell to Rice Wednesday after nearly five years as a staff member. The Office of Sponsored Research is directly responsible for aiding faculty and researchers in submitting grant proposals to both federal agencies and corporate industries. All research projects must be submitted through the office, she said.

Nisbett plans to move to Florida, where her husband is a tenured professor at the University of South Florida in the school of public health. She will work at the USF college of public health research office.

"My husband and I have been living apart for several months now," Nisbett said. "It was my decision to put my personal life ahead of my career."

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Under Nisbett's guidance, the Office of Sponsored Research has increased in size and made technological improvements. Nisbett streamlined many of the procedures in the office to be more efficient, which she said resulted in an increase in the number of grants received. She created a process called document imaging, which allows electronic submissions of proposals.

Michelle Pratt, Compliance Administrator at the Office of Sponsored Research, said Nisbett's changes brought a new perspective to the office.

"I think she has brought a fresh attitude and experience to our office," Pratt said. "We needed to be updated. "

Adviser to the Dean of Natural Sciences Kathleen Matthews and Vice Provost for Reseach Jim Coleman said Nisbett was vital in enhancing Rice's research portfolio and profile.

"Nancy's greatest accomplishment has been to create an office of sponsored research with a clear attitude that their job is to facilitate the faculty to do research, and to do whatever they can to enable faculty to get the proposals submitted and to get their awards," Coleman said. "That has certainly helped our faculty be as successful in their research as they have been."

Staff Assistant Ligia Leismer said Nisbett also impacted the Rice community -- not only through her professionalism, but also through her genuine care for her staff workers.

"Nancy [is] the most supportive, the most fair, and [has] just gotten me through the worst time, I can honestly say, of my life," Leismer said. "I just can't say enough about her. She is just the most wonderful boss I have ever had in my life."

At her farewell party, Nisbett quipped, "This office is kind of like a 'one-for-all and all-for-one' office."

A selection process is underway to find a new director for the Office of Sponsored Research. A search committee is actively reviewing applicants with the help of a consultant firm, Opus. Plans are to have a new director installed by June, according to Coleman. In the interim, former Assistant Director Heidi Thornton is the acting director.

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