Dr. Joan K. West, Director of the Office of Research, Grants and Contracts at UTM, was recently elected to the advisory board of the Grants Resource Center (GRC) in Washington, D.C. Serving a two-year term on the board, effective July 1, West joins eight other advisory board members from U.S. colleges and universities in supporting the GRC, a component of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). AASCU represents more than 400 public colleges, universities and systems of higher education throughout the United States and its territories. The GRC supports the realization of institutional goals and program development initiatives through timely and detailed information on funding opportunities, personalized support to meet specific campus needs and promotion of networking among sponsored programs professionals.

Dr. West will be one of two representatives of public, four-year institutions of higher education with a full-time enrollment between 5,000 and 10,000 students. Since her arrival at UTM, external funding has increased from $2.6 million per year to almost $11 million annually and indirect cost recovery has increased by 400 percent. In her capacity as director, West also is the chief research officer and the compliance officer for the university. She also is a graduate faculty member in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at UTM, and is a member of the Fiscal Policies Advisory Task Force and the COEUS Task Force for the UT System.

In 2004, she was awarded the Outstanding Administrative Award by the Office of Extended Campus and Continuing Education for her contributions to the university. West has numerous papers, presentations and workshops to her credit and recently co-authored a manuscript published in the spring 2006 Special Edition of the College Student Affairs Journal. She and a colleague were successful in securing funding for a new business venture in West Tennessee through USDA with a grant proposal that was ranked No. 1 out of 379 submitted nationally. West serves on the advisory board for the Carl Perkins Child Advocacy Group for Weakley and Obion counties and is a member of the American Educational Research Association, the Mid-South Education Research Association and Phi Delta Kappa.

“These are exciting and challenging times in the world of grant-seeking,” said West. “We do not secure external funding alone. Being a member of the GRC Advisory Board will provide me opportunities to develop a stronger collegiality with research officers and sponsored programs directors from all the AASCU member institutions. This opportunity will also allow me to mentor others who may be just starting their careers in the external funding environment.”