ORAU announced the election of new members to its board and to its joint board/nominating committee and welcomed six new institutions to its 158-member university consortium. The announcement was made during the ORAU Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Jennifer Freeman, Ph.D., assistant vice president for research development at Purdue University, was elected to the ORAU board of directors representing the Council of Sponsoring Institutions and will begin serving in June. Re-elected to the board representing the Council are Francis Otuonye, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Tennessee Technological University; and Joe Heppert, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation at Texas Tech University.
William Harris, Ph.D., director of Innovation Advisory Partners, and David Stone, Ph.D., vice president for research at Oakland University, were elected as at-large members of the ORAU Board of Directors. Thomas Russell, Ph.D., president and CEO of Defense Science and Technology Consultants, LLC; and Sam Visner, tech fellow at The Aerospace Corporation, were re-elected as at-large members of the board.
The following leaders were named to the joint board/nominating committee: Shelley Hooks, Ph.D., associate vice president for research at the University of Georgia, and Kimberly Mayer, Ph.D., MBA, associate vice president for research development at the University of Virginia.
Quincy Quick, Ph.D., associate vice president of research and sponsored programs and Chief Research Officer at Tennessee State University, was elected vice chair of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions.
ORAU also announced the addition of the following universities to its consortium as sponsoring and associate member institutions:
- Air Force Institute of Technology, sponsoring institution, is the first federal education institution to join the consortium and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
- Drexel University, sponsoring institution, is a private research university accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
- Tufts University, sponsoring institution, is a private research university accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
- University of South Dakota, sponsoring institution, is a public research university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
- University of Missouri-St. Louis, associate member, is a public research university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
- Western Carolina University, is a public research university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
“Adding six new members to our University Consortium this year demonstrates that the value proposition for members is stronger than ever,” said Andy Page, ORAU president and CEO. “ORAU’s Research and University Partnerships Office is mission-directed to advance national priorities and serve the public interest by integrating academic, government and scientific resources globally. Our new board and consortium members will build upon the momentum our team has created to strategically position ORAU for the future.”