TAMPA – Behind every team of business school researchers, there is a behind-the-scenes person who helps the team function. At the USF Muma College of Business, that person is Michelle Jahn.
As the unit research administrator, Jahn assists faculty in finding opportunities for funded research, prepare proposals and budgets, application submissions, and the management of awarded grants.
She is a one-person team serving faculty and students in the Muma College of Business on all three campuses.
“I love helping the faculty with their research aspirations,” Jahn said. “I really like working at the unit level, because it gives me the opportunity to know my faculty and I enjoy helping them achieve their research goals and to find funding that best fits the research.” For example, she is currently helping faculty members complete a National Science Foundation research funding proposal, a grant proposal to host a GenCyber student summer camp, and a state award through Cyber Florida to train state employees on cybersecurity.
She’s been with USF since 2007 and has served as a fiscal and business specialist, a research administrator and an administrative specialist with USF Research and Innovation and the College of Arts and Sciences.
She did some research funding in a previous role. And as she inquired more about how to manage research funds, she discovered she liked that type of work and decided to do it full-time.
As much as she loves helping faculty and students find research opportunities, one of the challenges of her job is compliance. She needs to ensure faculty and USF continue to stay in compliance with the policies and regulations set by the federal government, the state of Florida, USF, and the awarding agency.
“There are many facets of compliance, each involving several agencies, and each agency has their own set of rules that can change at any time,” she said.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is currently pursuing her MBA at USF.