Vice President for Research and Innovation

Reporting dually to Duke’s Provost and to the Chancellor for Health Affairs and President and CEO of the Duke University Health System, the Vice President for Research and Innovation is responsible for research policy, coordination with federal research sponsors, compliance, scientific integrity, innovation, and technology transfer across the University’s entire research enterprise. Duke is embarking on a search for a talented and qualified leader to serve as the University’s next Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPRI).

Duke University is recognized as a premier research institution and routinely ranks in the top echelon of all U.S. universities in research expenditures. Duke’s Office of Research & Innovation has overall responsibility for facilitating the University’s research enterprise and works to encourage and support the development, promotion, and application of Duke's world-renowned researchers, students, intellectual property, and facilities. Duke researchers are awarded over $700 million per year from government agencies, consistently placing the University in the top ten among U.S. research universities. In recent years, the University has made a concerted effort to bring excellence and discipline to the Office of Research and Innovation. In 2019, the Vice President for Research role was expanded and combined to include responsibilities previously led separately by the Provost’s office and by Duke Health. There is now a further widening of the role’s responsibility by including oversight of the Office of Innovation.

The VPRI role is part of Duke’s commitment to an integrated leadership structure for research to provide clear and consistent policy guidance, oversight, and accountability for all research across the University and Duke Health. The next VPRI will be a respected leader with substantive experience managing an operationally complex institution through change and will be responsible for developing a strong vision to amplify Duke’s culture of research integrity, operational excellence, and competitive innovation.

Candidates with diverse backgrounds will be considered, although ideal candidates will have demonstrated experience and success in many of the following areas:

• Knowledge and demonstrated expertise in one or more of the basic or applied sciences with a broad level of knowledge in others.
• Administrative leadership managing faculty and staff in a complex, multi-disciplinary research environment; experience engaging with research in industry settings or internationally is a plus.
• Knowledge of and experience in dealing with federal research, foundation, and grant funding programs and processes.
• Experience having established and enhanced ties across schools, including academic health care enterprises.
• Proven record of building diverse, equitable, and inclusive teams.
• A history of enabling innovation by faculty and students and driving research commercialization.
• An earned terminal degree and achievement in research and scholarship to meet the requirements for obtaining tenure and appointment as a full professor. 
  
  

Duke University has retained Spencer Stuart to assist in this recruitment. To nominate an individual, express personal interest in the position, or communicate comments, questions, or suggestions to the search committee, please feel free to use the confidential search mailbox DukeVPRI@SpencerStuart.com.  

A complete position description will be sent on request or can be found at https://provost.duke.edu/about/executive-searches.