IU Leader To Step Down
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Vice President for Research at Indiana University says he will step down this summer. Jorge Jos? says he plans to focus on his research in neuroscience.
December 19, 2014
News Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University Vice President for Research Jorge Jos? will step down from his position as IU’s top research administrator when his five-year appointment ends July 31, 2015, the university announced today.
He plans to spend a year’s sabbatical focusing on his research in neuroscience, after which he will serve as Rudy Professor of Physics at IU Bloomington and a member of the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis.
Jos? joined IU in August 2010 and oversaw an 18 percent increase in federally funded research by IU faculty members in his first four years. His strategic plan for research at IU, which guides the university’s efforts in this vitally important area, helped shape IU’s bicentennial strategic priorities approved by the IU Board of Trustees earlier month.
“In a challenging environment for university research funding, Jorge has worked extremely hard to help IU faculty members identify and pursue funding opportunities and has enhanced the spirit of collaboration among IU’s research faculty,” Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie said.
“In addition to his strong career as a research administrator, Jorge also is an eminent scholar in his own right, and I am delighted that he will continue to contribute to IU’s mission through his own research.”
The university will begin a search for a successor to Jos? in early 2015, McRobbie said.
“IU’s ongoing success as a research university is crucial not only to the university’s future but to that of the state of Indiana as well, and we expect this challenging and exciting role to be very attractive,” McRobbie said.
Jos? joined IU after a five-year term as vice president for research at the University at Buffalo, part of State University of New York system. SUNY Buffalo, like IU Bloomington, is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, which comprises 62 of the leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
During his tenure, Jos? has been instrumental in increasing collaboration among IU researchers. For example, since 2010, 65 teams of IU researchers have received $4 million in seed funding through the IU Collaborative Research Grants program initiated by Jos?, which generated an additional $83 million in external research funding. Jos? also helped spearhead the creation of two interdisciplinary, multi-campus research centers at IU: The IU Network Sciences Institute and the IU Consortium for the Study of Religion, Ethics and Society. IUNI and the consortium are the first university-wide research centers at IU.
He has also strongly supported research and creative activity in the arts and humanities by revitalizing IU’s New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities grant program. The program has awarded 57 major grants since 2010 and, based on its current success, has been extended by the university for the next five years.
“It has been a privilege to work with the many highly talented faculty members and administrators across Indiana University as we try to grow the university’s research portfolio, and I believe we have built a strong foundation for the future of research at IU,” Jos? said. “At the same time, I am very much looking forward to exploring other endeavors, in particular devoting more time to my own research in the coming years.”
In addition to research development, Jos? prioritized efforts to decrease the administrative burden on researchers through increased efficiency in the Office of Research Administration and the Office of Research Compliance. For example, Kuali Coeus grants administration software was implemented at IU in 2011. In 2013, IU became the first university to fully implement an online research compliance review system by Kuali Coeus, as part of a larger overhaul of the Human Subjects Office, which greatly reduced turnaround times for research protocols.
Jos?, a native of Mexico City, received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His began his career with postdoctoral appointments at Brown University, the University of Chicago and Rutgers University.
He was a faculty member at Northeastern University in Boston from 1981 to 2005, serving as chair of the physics department in 2004-05. Elected a member of the Mexican National Academy of Science in 2000, Jos? was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007. He has authored or co-authored about 170 scholarly publications. His current research focuses on quantitative biomarkers for neurological disorders, including autism and Parkinson’s disease.
Source: Indiana University