Porchia-White Appointed Director of Research Integrity and Compliance

Russell Cothren, University Relations

Shatara Porchia-White, assistant vice chancellor, director of research integrity and compliance

Shatara Porchia-White has been promoted to assistant vice chancellor, director of research integrity and compliance, in the Division of Research and Innovation. She has served as interim assistant vice chancellor since August.

As the director of the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, Porchia-White will report to the vice chancellor for research and innovation, John English. 

"Shatara has been an integral part of the university's commitment to research integrity and compliance for more than 13 years," English said. "With her expertise and institutional knowledge, she is the ideal person to serve in this vital leadership role."

"As someone with an expertise in biology and community health, I tend to focus on life cycles, and I see this promotion as the next step in my professional life cycle," Porchia-White said. "As director, I look forward to continuing the facilitation and expansion of the university's research initiatives. I want our colleagues across campus to know that the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance is here to assist them in fulfilling their research agendas. Most of all, we hope to continue to be a valuable resource in the University of Arkansas' mission as it relates to research, innovation and discovery."

Porchia-White's responsibilities include:   

• Assisting faculty, staff and students to understand and comply with federal and state regulatory requirements for sponsored and un-sponsored research and with the associated university policies governing these activities.
• Directing and managing the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance.
• Serving as the research integrity officer for the university.
• Developing and/or coordinating training pursuant to the Responsible Conduct of Research program.
• Revising and maintaining campus' research compliance policies and procedures and assessing compliance risks and opportunities.
• Leading and providing administration and management oversight for the Conflict of Interest campus policy.

Porchia-White received a bachelor of science from the University of Central Arkansas and a master of science from the U of A. She joined the U of A in 2007 as a research assistant in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. After nine months in that role, she joined the Office of Environmental Health and Safety as an assistant biosafety officer and served in that capacity for eight years. Porchia-White then assumed the role of biosafety coordinator in the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance and operated there for five years. Earlier this year, she became the assistant director of research integrity and compliance.

Before her time at the U of A, Porcia-White served in various capacities at the University of Mississippi, the Thad Cochran National Center for Natural Products Research and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.