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Office of Research Administration

Directory & Services

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ORA is divided into four functional units under the direction of the Associate Vice President for Research. They are as follows:
 
  • Funding and Information Services — assistance with identification of funding sources, funding databases (SPIN and GrantSearch), information dissemination, limited submission coordination, ORA website maintenance, newsletter design, and more 
  • Proposal and Award Management (PAM) — budget development, proposal submission, award negotiation & acceptance, subaward preparation, non-financial award management, such as time extensions, PI/PD changes, and more
  • Financial Reporting and Audit (FRA) — award set-up, subrecipient monitoring, expense review and approval, cost transfer approvals, invoice preparation, financial reporting, payment deposits, project closeout, audit management, F&A and salary recovery distributions, and more
  • Research Information Systems and Grant Analysis (RISGA) — salary verification, expense monitoring, ORA systems and desktop support, and more

UNITS & STAFF

Organizational Diagram of the Office of Research Administration

 Central Office Staff

TBD
   Budget and Office Manager

Funding & Information Services 

Maurine Pace (maurine.paceFREEMississippi)
   Information Specialist

Proposal & Award Management

T. Michelle Shows (michelle.showsFREEMississippi
   Director

The Proposal & Award Management (PAM) staff are assigned to specific departments, centers, or other units. If you have questions about whom to contact, call us at 601.266.4119 or email us at USM-ORAFREEMississippi.

For assistance with Proposals and Contracts:

To see which pre-award administrator provides assistance for your organizational unit, open ORA's Area Assignments Chart (pdf).

Jeannene Garbee (jeannene.garbeeFREEMississippi)
    Sponsored Projects Analyst

Joseph Steadman (joseph.steadmanFREEMississippi)
    Assistant Director, PAM

TBD
    Senior Contracts & Grants Coordinator

TBD
    Contracts & Grants Coordinator

Alexandra Schneider (alexandra.schneiderFREEMississippi)
    Contracts & Grants Administrator

Matthew Thornton (matthew.w.thorntonFREEMississippi
    Contracts & Grants Administrator

Phillip Snyder (phillip.snyderFREEMississippi)
    Contracts & Grants Administrator

Brandon Vineyard (brandon.vineyardFREEMississippi)
    Contracts & Grants Administrator

Shruti Archita (shruti.architaFREEMississippi)
    Contract Coordinator

Financial Reporting & Audit

Corrie R. Stringer, MPA (corrie.stringerFREEMississippi
   Director

Sally Downey, MPA (sally.l.downeyFREEMississippi
   Assistant Director

To see which post-award administrator accountant provides assistance for your account, open the FRA Accountant by Agency (pdf).

For assistance with restricted fund expenditures, invoices, financial reports, project closeout, and audits:  

Rachel Anderson (rachel.andersonFREEMississippi)
   Office Assistant

TBD
  
Research Administration Specialist

Brittany Wilson (bm.wilsonFREEMississippi)
   Research Administration Analyst

Shannon Davis (shannon.davisFREEMississippi)
   Senior Accountant: Federal Agencies

Barbara Dawson (barbara.dawsonFREEMississippi)
   Accountant: Fixed Price Projects, State & Business/Industry Agencies

Jerilynn "Nikki" Lee (nicole.leeFREEMississippi)
  Senior Accountant: Federal Agencies

Sherry McArn (sherry.mcarnFREEMississippi)
  Accountant: Fixed Price Projects, State & Business/Industry Agencies

TBD
  Accountant: Fixed Price Projects, State & Business/Industry Agencies

Darlene Shepherd (darlene.shepherdFREEMississippi)
  Accountant: Fixed Price Projects, State & Business/Industry Agencies

Jenni Schmidt (jennifer.schmidtFREEMississippi)
   Contracts and Grants Accountant

Research Information Systems & Grant Analysis (RISGA)

Jennifer Wilson (jennifer.wilsonFREEMississippi)
   Director of Research Information Systems and Grant Analysis

Kaycee McMullan (kaycee.mcmullanFREEMississippi)
  Assistant Director of Research Information Systems and Grant Analysis

Harrison Gerald (harrison.geraldFREEMississippi)
   Associate Business Analyst

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ORA PRINCIPLES & SERVICES

 ORA Principles

  • to provide visible leadership in sponsored project development, administration, and compliance
  • to offer service that is responsive to the current and projected needs of Southern Miss faculty and staff
  • to supply differential assistance that reflects individual faculty and staff needs and experience with sponsored projects
  • to support the pursuit and administration of external funds to advance the University's mission

ORA Services

  • provide timely information on funding opportunities
  • contribute to development of proposals
  • support principal investigators (PIs) by providing information, interpretation, and guidance from proposal preparation through close-out of the award
  • process and submit proposals in an accurate, timely manner
  • ensure that accounts for funded projects are in place as quickly as possible
  • provide information on contracts and subcontracts
  • verify that sponsored activities are conducted in compliance with state, federal, and university requirements
  • develop and ensure compliance with university policies related to external funding
  • ensure cost-sharing commitments are documented
  • capture, analyze and report pertinent financial data to the administration
  • assist in preparation of the University's facilities and administrative costs rates  
  • prepare financial billings and reports
  • collect and monitor payments from sponsor
  • manage audits of externally funded projects

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