2022 Research Development Champion Awardee

Honorees are distinguished by their advocacy for the critical role of research development and/or wider efforts to advance the research enterprise. Eligible nominees are visible external supporters of NORDP and its members; they are not required to be research development professionals or NORDP members. The 2022 RD Champion Awardee is Dr. Susan Renoe.

Dr. Susan Renoe, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Extension & Engagement at the University of Missouri, is an outstanding candidate to receive the 2022 Research Development Champion Award. NORDP and the research development community already have benefited and will continue to gain from the leadership, partnership, and advocacy Susan embodies. These benefits are perhaps made most manifest in the joint memorandum of understanding recently executed between NORDP and the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society, or ARIS, which Susan directs. The formalized NORDP-ARIS partnership developed in recognition of the seemingly endless possibilities for research development and societal impact professionals to connect, collaborate, and innovate to further the missions of both organizations. Those possibilities coalesce in two significant ways:
1) helping to advance and demonstrate the impact of research globally and 2) supporting inclusive excellence by broadening participation among the individuals who enable, conduct, and benefit from research, scholarship, and creative activity. 

Further, Susan has ensured that research development perspectives are represented in important dialogues, including during her work as a member of the NSF Committee for Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering and on the Committee on the Future of NSF EPSCoR, and at national convenings such as “Broadening the Impact of Research—Past, Present, Future: Towards a National Resource Center” at NSF and the Kavli Foundation’s Support Systems for Scientists’ Communication and Engagement Workshop on University Perspectives held at the Scripps Institute. More recently, she helped establish the vision and marshaled the resources to create one of the nation’s first fully virtual research development offices at Mizzou. 

Significantly, in January, 2022, Susan was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and specifically recognized for her “distinguished contributions and commitment to strengthening the societal impacts of science and engineering by building capacity, advancing scholarship, growing partnerships across multiple institutions, and promoting effective public engagement.” In response, she said, “Being named an AAAS Fellow is a highlight in a career I love, helping scientists and researchers engage in activities that have meaningful, long-term impact in their communities and society. Together we can leverage knowledge to benefit society and make the world a better place.”

Thus, Susan is a tireless champion of science and society who exemplifies the level of forward thinking for what can be achieved in the future. Significantly, she models inclusive excellence; she creates space for people of all backgrounds, abilities, and institutional types to see themselves in the important work of advancing the research enterprise; and she provides opportunities for them to contribute. NORDP would be hard-pressed to identify someone better suited to receive its Research Development Champion Award in 2022.