Organizational advancement program leads to new leadership position in Office of Sponsored Programs
Over the past year, the Office of the Vice President for Research has been engaged in an organizational advancement program where it gathered feedback from its customers and employees and then engaged these groups to recommend changes in various elements of the organization's policies and operations. Robert Walters, vice president for research, announced that a new position will be created in the Office of Sponsored Programs that will respond to some of those recommendations.
"The responsibilities associated with our [Office of Sponsored Programs] function have grown as a result of the success of our research program, and because of increased federal reporting requirements and regulatory oversight," said Walters. "It is imperative that we devote additional leadership resources to the group so that we can provide excellent service to our faculty customers, sufficient fiduciary oversight for our sponsors, and a professional and gratifying work environment for our employees."
Linda Bucy, assistant vice president of sponsored programs administration since 2007, has been named assistant vice president for finance and controls. In this position, Bucy will be responsible for assuring that the Office of Sponsored Programs has an effective internal controls process. The position will also be significantly involved in the development and implementation of a new electronic research administration system. She will be the primary subject-matter expert in this process.
John Rudd Jr., chief financial officer of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech, has been named acting assistant vice president for sponsored programs administration. He will manage the Office of Sponsored Programs and be the official signature authority for all sponsored projects. He provides leadership to a professional staff responsible for pre-award and post-award administration of all externally funded sponsored projects. He will also be taking over management of the proposal assistance group as it is integrated more fully into the pre-award process. Rudd will represent the university on research administration issues to federal, state, and local governments and external sponsors, and be the university contact for policies and procedures related to sponsored projects.
"Linda's prior work in the internal audit department and in the implementation of the Banner financial system makes her ideally suited for this assignment," said Rodd Hall, associate vice president for research. "The depth of understanding she brings as subject-matter expert to the development and implementation of our electronic research initiative is unsurpassed."
Bucy's previous roles include being associate director of the Office of Sponsored Programs from October 2001 until January 2006, then director of post awards for a year, responsible for all post award and financial administration activities within the office. Before joining the office, Bucy was accounting manager with the Virginia Tech Controller's Office and a member of the finance implementation team. She also worked with Internal Audit from 1985 to 1996. Bucy is a certified public accountant and worked in public accounting for 11 years in Tennessee prior to coming to Virginia Tech. She earned a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
"John will be charged with making significant process improvements to handle the growing volume of research proposals, awards, and expenditures," said Hall. "His ability to quickly understand existing processes and determine where efficiencies can be achieved is critical to the success of our organization. I know that he will be working closely with Linda to take advantage of every opportunity available in implementing the new electronic research administration system.
Rudd previously served as the director of financial planning for the university, director of Internal Audit and Management Services, Finance Project Team Leader for the university and the Virginia Tech Foundation during the implementation of the current general ledger and receivables systems, and manager of general accounting and data control. He was instrumental in the successful design, development, and implementation of the university's first data mart in conjunction with leading the implementation of the general ledger and receivables systems.
Rudd is a certified public accountant. Before coming to Virginia Tech, he served as a senior auditor for the Commonwealth of Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts. He holds a bachelor of science in accounting and a master's degree in business administration from Virginia Tech.
