Anna Steen recognized for career success in Office of Sponsored Programs
Anna Steen has climbed her way to leadership within her sector of Virginia Tech's Office of Sponsored Programs.
She has served in three capacities since starting at the university in 2009. Steen first worked as a pre-award administrator, and then was promoted twice, first to serve as a pre-award team leader, and now she serves as the pre-award associate director.
Steen, who leads a team of five pre-award administrators, also assists in the training and documenting of internal processes within many departments across the university.
This past year Steen completed all pre-award activities for both the Center for Naval Systems and the EMBERS project. This entailed guiding the proposal submission for a new $6.5 million IDIQ with Naval Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. This was followed by 7 Task Order proposals, which all were accepted. During this tedious process, Steen also managed proposal submissions totaling more than $10 million in work for the EMBERS project, expanding the project to 14 subcontractors, a record high.
She is one of nine Virginia Tech employees nominated to be recognized as a 2015 Governor’s Award recipient. She is nominated in the agency star category. The winners were announced last month.
“Anna is a consummate professional, demonstrating abilities to communicate efficiently, respond fittingly in difficult sponsor and personnel interactions, and complete tasking promptly and precisely, often catching and correcting the errors of others,” said Christopher Walker, project manager of the Discovery Analytics Center within the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science.
“But what separates Anna as an elite employee is her ability to maintain a professional image and positive attitude that is highly contagious to her peers. On numerous occasions Anna has overcome a challenge while leading by example to maintain an encouraging work atmosphere — a rare skill that few leaders possess,” he added.
Steen still has a curiosity for learning and dedication to furthering her education. In addition to working full time, Steen is working on her master’s degree in public administration at Virginia Tech. She is also an active member of the National Council of University Research Administrators, belongs to the Virginia Society for Research Administrators, is a certified Research Administrator (CRA) from the Research Administrator Certification Council, and holds hold’s Virginia Tech’s OSP Research Administrator Certification—Levels I and II as well as Virginia Tech’s Customer Service certificate.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
