2022 Office of Research and Innovation’s Employee Awards

In addition to exceptional performance of her daily work, Ann’s commitment to customer service extends throughout every aspect of her work. She sets a visible and professional example for the entire team. She provides professional, helpful, and prompt service to Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance colleagues; faculty and staff across the university; and external partners.

Whether working on a simple task or a complex problem in need of an innovative, out-of-the-box solution, Ann seeks and finds a way forward. She is extremely well-versed in university policy (or, in the face of a new situation, will become so), which means that not only can she provide a creative solution, it will be one that complies with university requirements.

Ann’s commitment to professionalism is demonstrated by her willingness to review and edit office materials, emails, and presentations to ensure the highest level of accuracy as well as her focus on customer interactions. Her position is central to all contacts within and outside of the division and she takes seriously her responsibility to interact professionally and in a positive manner.  

Ann Thornhill
Administrative and Office Manager
The division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance

Proposal and Award Setup Team

Crystal Moore
Supervisor
Proposal and Award Setup

Elizabeth Dishon
Specialist
Proposal and Award Setup

Vanda Williams
Specialist
Proposal and Award Setup

Recognized as the "skeleton" of the Office of Sponsored Programs, the proposal and award setup team plays a vital role, as the work they do is the first step in the proposal process and serves as the basis for the work done by their colleagues on all other teams.

Elizabeth, Crystal, and Vanda are noted for functioning extremely well as a team, enabling the smooth operation of the proposal process as items move between teams in the office. 

They are also noted for cooperating with all teams to get things done properly. They are effective communicators across departments and are always professional, helpful, and prompt. The team has also worked with colleagues to find solutions to improve workflows.   

Kim is recognized for bringing an extraordinary level of commitment, initiative, cooperation, and dedication to her role. Her enormous attention to detail allows the senior vice president for research and innovation and other leadership to be successful.

She has developed and fostered relationships all over campus and is well respected and valued by leadership, faculty, and staff alike. Not only is she a consummate professional in all of her responsibilities, she goes above and beyond to support the entire Office of Research and Innovation.  

Kim Borkowski
Executive Assistant
Office of Research and Innovation

Mark Mondry
Director
LAUNCH

Mark has been one of the leading voices at Virginia Tech for the translation of academic research and early-stage technologies into commercial products and services that have societal and/or economic impact on our world.

His innovative approach to leading a culture shift among the research faculty and graduate students towards commercialization of their work has resulted in 10 startups being created in FY22, doubling the yearly average amount over the previous six years.

His LAUNCH Startup Lab's fully customized training program was attended by approximately 40 researchers, integrated with Virginia Tech learning platforms through Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies, resulting in one of the most popular courses offered.

Mark is a clear thought leader, educator, and motivator in the startup and entrepreneurial space for Virginia Tech's Office of Research and Innovation.

Daniel is recognized for his leadership and support of the Contracts and Agreements team. He consistently provides constructive feedback and advice, empowering his team and others to succeed. He always strongly advocates and supports the professional development of the members of the team.

Thanks to his leadership during the development of Summit Agreements, the team has flourished through a transition from an outdated system into a new research administration tool.

He consistently encourages and welcomes innovative ideas from his team to improve processes and has aided personal career growth while improving office efficiency.

Daniel Cockrum
Director
Contracts and Agreements

Andrea Nash
Protocol Coordinator
Human Research Protection program

Andrea is recognized for consistently providing excellent customer service to student researchers, often going above and beyond her job description to teach them various concepts related to research, the use of technology, and more.

In her role she is often faced with students who are coming to the office in an elevated state of emotions due to various personal and academic pressures. Andrea is known for not only being able to help these students with their needs and counseling them on the difficulties they're experiencing, but also for taking extra time and care -- even helping the students learn breathing exercises. She makes sure that students who come to see her are in a better mindset and that their emotions are level before they leave her office.

When a key leadership role opened within the Human Research Protection program, she stepped up to help cover duties of that role until it could be filled. She is also an employee who has been mostly remote for several years but who drives the 2+ hours into the office to show up whenever there is an outreach or educational event that needs staffing.

Additionally, Andrea takes the concept of Ut Prosim beyond Virginia Tech through using her free time to run an anti-bullying camp for girls within the Commonwealth each year.

Karen is recognized for the support and encouragement she offers her colleagues. She successfully advocated the promotion of two new facility supervisors and a senior technician from the ranks of hopeful husbandry staff. She validates and engages each of her colleagues' questions, applauds and encourages all of their strengths, and empathizes and guides when a mistake is made.

Karen Hall
Associate Director
Animal Care and Operations

Kory Trott
Director
Research Integrity and Consultation Program

In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Kory engages in a number of service activities that make the university a more welcoming, equitable, and just environment. His additional service extends beyond Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance to the university at large as well as his professional community.

His efforts to create a more welcoming and just campus environment include serving as a mentor to a first-generation research intern, serving as a judge in the Virginia Tech Ethics Bowl competition, and being elected as vice president of the Virginia Tech Black Faculty Caucus.

His service to his profession is noteworthy, with activities such as serving as an editor for the Accountability in Research journal, presenting at the Society of Research Administrators International annual meeting, coauthoring a chapter on public health ethics for an introductory public health text book, and serving as an Institutional Review Board member for the National Cancer Institute’s Late Phase Emphasis Central Institutional Review Board.

Neil and Radka both consistently bring a high level of professionalism and expertise to the many programs they support across Research and Innovation. They lead their teams to work with stakeholders to understand needs and deliver results to ensure high levels of customer service and satisfaction.

The professionalism and customer service of their team members, well-known to employees across Research and Innovation, is due to their exceptional leadership.

Beginning late summer 2022, Neil and Radka both stepped up to fill leadership positions for establishing the Virginia Tech Secure University Research Environment, a high-profile university initiative to provide support to researchers who use certain types of privacy-protected data in their research.