Name: Elan Travis
Position: Associate Director
Office: Research Administration & Engagement
Institution: University of West Florida (UWF)
What attracted you to this work?
I previously worked at the Florida Department of Education in the School Improvement Office. We received “Race to the Top” funds to work with low performing schools in that state. They needed someone to manage the grant, which involved a lot of hiring and budget management across five subagencies. So that’s when I got involved and interested in working in the grant space and worked there for three years.
In 2015 my family relocated to Atlanta and I became a Contracting Specialist at Georgia Tech in sponsored programs office. I did that for two years before moving into the College of Design to serve as their dedicated Grant Specialist. I really liked working hands-on with faculty in that department setting.
In 2019 I saw the UWF opportunity, which was an opportunity to progress in my career. It was different moving from an R1 to a PUI, and I was excited by the opportunity to help the institution grow.
What’s your favorite thing about your work?
My favorite thing about RA as a whole is helping to guide faculty about what is needed and helping them to understand. I think helping them understand makes a “no” not so harsh. However, we also always try to explore ways to support them. We typically don’t say “no” but rather “we’ll see.”
Overall, I enjoy hearing how excited faculty are about what they’re submitting and helping them grow and achieve their goals.
What’s a handy tool in your tool kit?
Transparency is important to me. When you’re transparent with faculty, say, on the stage you are at in the review and submission of their grant, then they have more understanding and grace in handling delays.
What’s your wish for improving your work?
I would like to be able to provide faculty with a toolkit of resources and trainings to help them understand and navigate both the proposal and award process. It would help give them a place to start with things.
How could our organization take steps to improve?
I love the Florida Alliance organization, and I wish I could find more ways to get involved. As one idea, a future topic for a session could be “Mentorship within a Research Office.” I’m interested in how to help new RAs entering into the field to feel comfortable. It can be a lot, and we need to recruit more people into the field, but how do we mentor them effectively, so they feel they have people they can lean on?
What role could you see playing someday in the Florida Alliance?
Given my interest in the mentoring topic, I’d be interested in someday joining the Mentoring Committee to learn from and help facilitate the program. Also, I enjoy planning things so the Planning/Outreach Committee would also be a good fit.