The University of Alabama Office for Research and Economic Development (ORED) recently made two strategic promotions on its senior leadership team.
Lauren Wilson has been named associate vice president for research and technology agreements, and Jennifer Camp has been named associate vice president for research administration. Their appointments begin Feb. 1.
“The primary mission of ORED is to facilitate the growth and impact of the UA research enterprise by helping all faculty, departments, academic colleges, centers, and institutes achieve their full research ambition, potential, and goals,” said Russell Mumper, vice president for research & economic development. “Both Lauren and Jennifer have demonstrated their sustained commitment, knowledge, and leadership in helping ORED execute its primary mission. Both are especially deserving of recognition and promotion to these elevated titles.”
Wilson joined UA in 2006 as senior associate director in the Office for Sponsored Programs and became director of research administration in 2015. In 2019, she was promoted to assistant vice president for research and technology agreements. In this role, Wilson managed and led all stages of the research agreement lifecycle, from creation to negotiation and administration.
In her nearly 25-year tenure at UA, Wilson has spearheaded research initiatives aimed at creating mutually beneficial agreements for private and public stakeholders engaged in research and technology transfer activities. Under her leadership, ORED established the Office for Research & Technology Agreements and the Office for Innovation & Commercialization. She also organized and created the Office for Proposal Development, now the Research ASSIST Office, to support faculty involved in externally funded research.
Wilson has also been involved in undergraduate research, organizing the first campus-wide undergraduate research conference and leading internal research grant award competitions.
She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, National Council of University Research Administrators, Association of University Technology Managers, Federal Demonstration Project, and Council on Governmental Relations, among other professional affiliations.
An active member of the community, she serves as board president of the Ability Alliance of West Alabama and board member of Therapeutic Riding of Tuscaloosa and Temporary Emergency Services of Tuscaloosa.
Camp joined UA in February 2020 as assistant vice president for research and executive director for the Offices of Sponsored Programs and Contract and Grant Accounting. She was tasked with growing the UA research portfolio by supporting faculty currently engaged in externally funded grants and contracts and capturing and accurately reporting internally UA-funded research endeavors.
Camp’s expertise in federal and state law and external sponsor rules and regulations has been integral to ORED’s monumental growth since being designated a Carnegie R-1 research institute.
The recently launched Research ASSIST Office will report directly to Camp, in addition to the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP), Contract & Grants Accounting (CGA), and Electronic Research Administration, Training & Reporting. Under Camp’s leadership, these teams directly contributed to UA more than doubling its new research awards over a four-year period. She also serves as the UA administrative representative for the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP).
In 2021, Camp championed the Separately Accounted for Expenditures (SAE) pilot project, which captured $20.8 million in research expenditures and $11.5 million in service expenditures of faculty time. The success of the pilot resulted in a campus-wide launch in 2022.
In 2022, Camp and Wilson developed and launched the inaugural Early Career Research Administration Fellowship program. The first cohort of undergraduate fellows served in OSP and CGA for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Camp has more than twenty years of experience in research administration working with faculty and other key stakeholders to advance the research enterprise. Prior to joining UA, Camp served as the director of the Office of Grants & Contracts Accounting at Georgia Institute of Technology for seven years. She has also worked in research administration with the Huron Consulting Group, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Methodist Hospital Research Institute and Nemours Children’s Clinic. She is a member of the Society of Research Administrators and routinely serves as a workshop presenter and online instructor.
Camp earned her master’s and bachelor’s in business administration from the University of North Florida. She earned national designation as a Certified Research Administrator in 2009 and continues to uphold her certification.