Published on Jul 15, 2021
To: Senior Administrators
From: Karen E. Kim, Vice Provost for Research
Subject: New Leadership of University Research Administration
Date: July 15, 2021
I am pleased to announce that Jennifer A. Ponting has been named Associate Vice President for Research Administration and Director of University Research, effective July 1. In her new role, Jennifer will oversee a diverse portfolio and provide leadership for research administration services including award management, research finance, contracting, conflict of interest, training, and related regulatory and sponsor requirements. Jennifer will also drive collaborative initiatives to improve research administration business processes and service levels in support of the University’s mission of research and academic excellence. She will report to the Vice Provost for Research.
Jennifer brings a wealth of expertise and experience to University Research Administration (URA) in regulatory compliance, federal research policy, and strategic business operations. She joined the University in September 2019 as Executive Director of Sponsored Programs for URA, where she led the University’s responses to changes in federal sponsor requirements regarding international collaborations and directed the campus-wide implementation of the AURA Agreements system. Prior to joining the University, Jennifer held several research administration leadership positions over her ten years at Harvard University, and previously worked in research compliance and technology transfer at both Columbia University and MIT. In the fall, Jennifer will begin serving as a Board Member for the Council on Governmental Relations, a leading authority on administration and management of federal research grants and contracts within research institutions.
Concurrent with this change in leadership, Mike Ludwig has transitioned to a new position as Associate Vice President for Research Compliance. Reporting to the Vice Provost for Research, Mike will focus on the grants management implementation of the Financial Systems Transformation (FST) project and regulatory compliance matters. As Associate Vice President for Research Administration and Director of URA since 2014, Mike has led significant organizational change, and has overseen an increase of more than $290 million in sponsored awards.
Please join me in congratulating Jennifer on her new role at URA, and in thanking Mike for his leadership for the past seven years.