Three finalists selected for Director of the Research Development Office

July 29, 2026

The Director of the Research Development Office is a new position in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and will lead a team of research development professionals with the goal of growing and diversifying UW–Madison’s federally funded research portfolio.

The director reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Capacity Building – a search is currently underway to recruit candidates for that position.

Presentations begin on Monday, Aug. 3 and run through Aug. 21.

“I am grateful to the search committee, which is chaired by Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Services Nick Novak,” says Dorota Brzezinska, vice chancellor for research. “This is a key new position in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. Research excellence requires more than great ideas. It requires the strategic support, partnerships, and infrastructure that help those ideas compete and succeed on a national scale. The Director of Research Development will help UW–Madison strengthen our ability to pursue transformative research opportunities, support interdisciplinary collaboration, provide ongoing professional development for team members, and position our faculty for success with major federal funding initiatives. This leadership role is essential to advancing our research mission and expanding the impact of Wisconsin’s discovery enterprise.”

Position description

Candidate names and biographies will be posted here 48 hours before their presentations. Please check back to this page for more information.

To protect the privacy of the candidates, the presentations will not be recorded.

The feedback survey can be found here: https://go.wisc.edu/341x8g. Please complete the survey by Thursday, Aug. 27.

Candidate 1: Marcia Silva