An office within the vice-president (research) portfolio has been retitled to better reflect the services and oversight it provides to the Memorial community and the important role it plays in pan-university research projects.

CREAIT, CRC and CFI Services (CCCS) is now known as Strategic Institutional Research Initiatives (SIRI). The change was approved by Vice-Presidents Council on Aug. 7 and is effective as of that date.

Dr. Marlies Rise will continue to serve as the director. There are no financial implications to the retitling of the office.

‘Rebranding will bring consistency’

“Memorial is committed to building our international reputation while also increasing our percentage of federal funding,” said Dr. Neil Bose, vice-president (research).

“This change suitably reflects the full services of what the Strategic Institutional Research Initiatives team provides to the entire university community. Its rebranding will bring consistency with other university units that provide a similar focus in strategic positioning, oversight of large-scale and emerging federal programs and opportunities to build the reputation of post-secondary institutions like Memorial.”

Oversee and support

SIRI will continue to oversee all aspects of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canada Research Chairs programs and other national research funding available to post-secondary institutions.

It will also continue to support the CREAIT Network, a university-wide network designed to maximize the impact of Memorial’s institutional investments in research through enhanced access to, and utilization of, major research equipment.

Two positions previously within the Office of the Vice-President (Research) have been reassigned to SIRI: the awards and honours position (held by Ellen Steinhauer) will continue to promote and facilitate the nomination of faculty and staff for prestigious honours with the intent of increasing and highlighting Memorial’s reputation and research success. The administrative support position (held by Tina Winsor) will now provide valued support to the SIRI team.

The main phone number for SIRI — 709-864-3750 — remains the same.