Name: Lorelei Sells
Position: Director, Sponsored Programs
Office: Office of Sponsored Programs
Institution: University of Tampa (UT)
What attracted you to this work?
I love being in a knowledge- and mission-oriented environment. I have a master’s in anthropology and started off in the museum world, where I ran public programming.
What’s your favorite thing about your work?
I enjoy interacting with a diverse group of people to facilitate the exciting things they are working on. I try to get faculty to talk with me early in the process, hearing what their goals are, and seeing how I can support them. Then they feel supported and like they have a partner and colleague, which can make them more empowered because they have an ally.
What’s a handy tool in your tool kit?
Something I do is to prioritize my availability. If someone walks into my office or sees me on campus, I take the time to let them know I’m there for them. I try to attend lots of university social events to make myself visible and available. While the university is fairly large in terms of the student population, with 11,000 students, it does not have a very large faculty and staff. I make sure to go to annual events like the Provost’s reception for new faculty that is hosted at his home, or receptions for tenure and promotion, and also faculty meetings and presenting at New Faculty Orientation.
What’s your wish for improving your work?
I feel that I have reached my career goal. My role here is to respond to what the university, faculty, and students want. I am always trying to gauge that and see how I can support it. We just got a new President and soon will have a new Provost, so likely there will be some changes soon. I am also collecting ideas so I can be ready to have conversations with administrators and others to better serve them.
How could our organization take steps to improve?
I think the leaders and other members in the Florida Alliance organization provide great organization as well as events and programming. In the future, it could be an idea for FL-RDA to start offering Research Development services to PUIs and other emerging research institutions. We have a budget at UT to contract out for these kinds of services. We sometimes also pay for faculty to attend external workshops. We’re big on outsourcing.
What role could you see playing someday in the Florida Alliance?
I am on the board of an organization called CLASP, which stands for Colleges of Liberal Arts Sponsored Programs. (More information on CLASP in a NORDP news post here.) My style is that if you ask me to do something I will help. I may not be the driver of the idea, but I am happy to help with the work. Recently I served as Sponsorship Coordinator for an NCURA region and we reached the highest amount from sponsorships. I would be happy to give back to FL-RDA someday.