ORAU announced the election of two new board members, a new Council chair and vice-chair, and welcomed six new institutions to its 150+ member University Consortium. The announcement was made during the ORAU Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
The following leaders were elected to the ORAU board of directors representing University Consortium members and will begin serving in June: Julie Jordan, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Economic Development at Mississippi State University; and Robert E. Nobles, DrPH., vice president for research administration at Emory University.
The following leaders have been elected or re-elected as at-large members of the ORAU board of directors: Alan S. Icenhour, Ph.D., deputy director for operations, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Lt. General (Retired) John F. Regni, U.S. Air Force, was re-elected; and Ann C. Savoca, Ph.D., retired research and development executive, was re-elected.
Joseph A. Heppert, Ph.D., vice president of research at Texas Tech University, was elected chair of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions. He replaces Debra R. Reinhart, Ph.D., associate vice president for research and scholarship at the University of Central Florida, whose term is ending. Rebekah Hersch, Ph.D., interim associate vice president for research and innovation at George Mason University, was named vice chair of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions.
Other outgoing members of the board include Dennis Hejlik, U.S. Marine Corp (ret), who has served as the board vice chair, chair and chair emeritus. He was first elected to the board in March 2014; and Aimee Kennedy, senior vice president of human resources at Battelle, who served as a member of the board Finance and Audit Committee. She was elected to the board in 2019.
ORAU also announced the addition of the following universities to its consortium as sponsoring and associate member institutions:
- University of Texas at El Paso, sponsoring institution, is a public research university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
- Des Moines University, associate member, is a private medical and health sciences institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
- Marymount University, associate member, a private Catholic university accredited by the Southern Associate of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
- Mercyhurst University, associate member, a private Catholic university accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
- University of Texas Permian Basin, associate member, a public research university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
- University of West Georgia, associate member, a public research university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
“We’re honored to have these distinguished individuals and institutions help us continue in our mission to advance national priorities and serve the public interest by integrating academic, government and scientific resources globally. Together we will build upon the momentum our team has created to strategically position ORAU for the future,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page.