Taylor Appointed Assistant Vice Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs

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Jennifer Taylor

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Jennifer Taylor has been appointed assistant vice provost for research and sponsored programs at the University of Arkansas.

Taylor, who has more than 15 years of experience as a research administrator in higher education and health-care settings, will report to Jim Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development.

“Dr. Taylor combines a solid background in research administration with a record of scholarship that includes more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and publications and being part of a team that has received more than $3 million in research funding,” Rankin said. “She will instill effective support for our campus investigators at a time when the number of our research proposals is growing and the number of our research awards is at an all-time high. We look forward to her leadership as the University of Arkansas research enterprise continues to grow.”

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs assists campus investigators with the process of finding funding sources, submitting proposals and managing awards. The office provides guidance to faculty and students in preparing proposals and expending awards in accordance with the regulations of federal and state governments and other funding agencies. RSSP also provides general information regarding sponsored-program activity at the university.

Taylor was most recently interim co-director in the Office of Sponsored Programs at Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, which merged elements of several units from the university and the medical center. 

“I am excited to have the opportunity to join the outstanding research community at the University of Arkansas,” Taylor said. “My goal is for our office to provide excellence in customer service and support to our campus researchers as they are engaged in all phases of the grant application and post-award management process. I also will strive to facilitate innovative partnerships, and at the same time, ensure effective research compliance areas.”

Taylor has published primarily in the area of messaging of regarding health care, health promotion, and disease prevention, as those messages seek to impact the use of products and services. She holds memberships in several professional organizations, including the National Council of University Research Administrators and Society of Research Administrators, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Research Administration. She is the associate editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

She holds a doctorate in health psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Kentucky. She is completing her Executive Master’s in Business Administration at Vanderbilt.