- Research
Jennifer Silver has been named the new Senior Director, Office of Sponsored Projects. After serving in the position in an interim capacity since February 2024, Silver will now step into the role in a permanent capacity on May 20, 2024.
Silver is a Certified Research Administrator with 25 years of experience in the pre- and post-award sponsored project life cycle. Her expertise is in post-award grant management related to expending, compliance, and audit management. She also draws from 12 years of experience serving as a director of teams supporting faculty with their research portfolios, including obtaining and continuing funding across various sponsors and funding types in higher education. Before overseeing the OSP, Silver was Director of Post Award Administration in the Office of Research and Finance Operations for three years.
Silver played a pivotal role in establishing a post-award operation with the inaugural Office of the Vice President for Research and in spearheading the development of a highly efficient Research Service Center. In her interim role, she provided comprehensive support to faculty across diverse disciplines, ensuring seamless pre-award and post-award services across various funding mechanisms and sponsors.
"My goal is to provide support, stability and a clear procedure for faculty who are navigating the awards process," said Silver. "I guided the Post-Award Administration team during UTSA’s eligibility for the National Research University Fund, and I'm looking forward to bringing the same efficiency, support and stewardship to future awards."
During her time as Interim Senior Director, Silver established a cohesive team dedicated tomanaging the project lifecycle, earning high satisfaction ratings from faculty members and leadership for her support and services.
“We’re thrilled to have Jennifer stepping into this role,” said JoAnn Browning, Interim Vice President for Research. “Jennifer’s track record of nearly 26 years at UTSA, as well as her achievements these past few months leading the OSP, leave no doubt in my mind that she will bring exceptional value and impact.”
Silver will continue to play a critical leadership role in overseeing the full lifecycle of grants and contracts. This includes providing guidance and mentorship to staff for both pre-award activities (proposal development and submission), award acceptance, and post-award management (ensuring compliance with regulations while delivering excellent service to researchers). In this role, Silver will ensure clear policies and procedures are maintained in support of the research at UTSA to guarantee adherence to university, state, and federal guidelines and improve processes wherever possible while addressing and mitigating the administrative burden on faculty
Another key aspect of the role is developing and maintaining a robust compliance program Silver will work closely with Internal Audit and Business Affairs with audits, desk reviews,and sponsor site visits to demonstrate UTSAs capabilities.
Silver will lead the training and development of staff and the wider university community. She approaches training from the viewpoint of the stakeholders and is open to incorporating new and relevant content