May 15, 1998

New VP plans to get the research message out

Dr. Roger Smith

Dr. Roger Smith is clearly in an enviable position. He's taking over as vice-president (research and external affairs) at a time when the fund-raising campaign is racing toward its goal and the university's powerful research engine is accelerating. The U of A's highways to the community, however, still have a few potholes.

That's a big reason he's not interested in pushing any cruise control buttons.

Selling social sciences and humanities is one of his top priorities. "We have to communicate more effectively how the social sciences and humanities are contributing to solving social problems in society," he says. "We all believe strongly that they are, but we haven't done a particularly good job of articulating to the public why this sector of the university deserves strong support in terms of its research activity."

Smith credits his predecessor, Dr. Martha Piper, for establishing a beachhead in the area of communications -- but he doesn't intend to ease up. He intends to strengthen the overall message Research Makes Sense. "In terms of the general public and elected officials, we're not over any hump," he says. "We need to convince them of the value that comes out of university research. We are the ones who educate the people who work in the high-tech sector, whether it's in biotechnology, information technology or value-added agriculture. I don't think people see enough of a direct connection there to really appreciate the value of what we do there."

Smith agrees with people who say the U of A hasn't adequately realized its potential for collaborative research with pharmaceutical companies and others spending enormous amounts on research. Much more can be done in that area, he says, predicting private sources of money for research will continue to grow, partly as a consequence of government programs that require collaborative partnerships.

He lauds the Industry Liaison Office for the enormous progress it's made in identifying inventions, creating spinoffs and its work in the area of licensing, but Smith says its leadership in the country simply can't be taken for granted.

Smith realizes his office has an important service role to play. He wants to ensure his staff is well positioned to serve the campus' academics -- many of those are young staff members who will need help to get their research careers launched. He wants a strong Research Grants Office to ensure the younger academics, in particular, get their fair share of research funding.

Reporting to him is the associate vice-president (research), and also the offices of research grants, industry liaison, external affairs, development, alumni, public affairs, government relations and three interdisciplinary research units. "My first priority is to ensure that the people in the portfolio are as strong as possible."

Smith, who has been serving in an acting capacity since January 1997, is responsible for the administration of research grants and contracts, enhancing and promoting technology commercialization, liaison with public and private institutions which fund research, and the dissemination of research to the community. Smith also oversees the current fund-raising campaign. His term is five years, effective July 1, 1998.

Smith says he knows the VPs and president have major responsibilities to set the tone, to articulate the core values of the institution. Excellence, an easy word to say he says, is nevertheless a core value that will guide his decision making. He promises to be selective, competitive and committed to hiring the very best people in the world.

"In many areas, we're already among the top three. Our job is to increase the number of those areas -- and increase the perception that that's where we are. We want incremental progress that moves us up. That's a challenge, because others are doing the same thing. The question is, 'Are we able to do it more effectively than others?' I think we are."

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