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| August 2013 issue of NCURA magazine. |
PULLMAN, Wash. – A Washington State University director is the new senior editor of a national journal for research administrators, and he encourages those at WSU to submit articles and story ideas for the publication.
Dan Nordquist, assistant vice president and director of the Office of Grant and Research Development (OGRD), is senior editor of the NCURA magazine of the National Council of University Research Administrators. With a membership of more than 7,600, it is the world’s largest and oldest organization for the profession. The magazine is published six times a year.
Research administrators provide administrative services to researchers. This can include handling the money, regulations, requirements, certifications and cooperative agreements, as well as bringing the research to a close, publishing the results and possibly transferring the work to marketing entities for sales or royalties.
WSU colleagues assisting Nordquist are Geeta Dutta, OGRD proposal manager, as copy editor and Derek Brown, OGRD subaward/reporting coordinator, as content management system (N-MAG) coordinator.
“NCURA is a great organization and I wanted to keep the momentum moving forward by encouraging some of my co-workers to volunteer for a good cause,” said Nordquist, who is immediate past president of the council.
“We have taken the magazine to a new level by adding some great features, like “Volunteer Pathways” and “What’s on My Desk,” where members share their issues/concerns based on their current hot topics,” he said.
New magazine technology has been implemented by the WSU team.
“We are working on incorporating YouTube videos into the online version, and we have some other great technological ideas in the works,” said Brown. He also authors a column, “Research by the Numbers.”
“Everyone loves a good factoid,” he said. “It’s fun to be part of something that aspires to grow and improve.”
“With each issue of the magazine that I edit, my respect for research administrators goes up,” said Dutta, who has previous experience as a science writer/editor/publishing director at CTB/McGraw-Hill educational assessment publisher. “I end up learning so much more about the intricacies of grants and research management.”
WSU research administrators who would like to write an article or suggest a story idea can email derekbrown@wsu.edu.