Below are a few highlights from my career (so far!) designing, building and launching interdisciplinary teams, projects and institutes at internationally recognized, top tier research universities.
Leadership
- A career focused on humans and our environment with an emphasis on advancing societal objectives
- Led complex interdisciplinary academic environmental institutes through significant leadership transitions at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, The Nelson Institute at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota
- Identified and capitalized on political, partnership and funding windows to launch a wide range of new research and education initiatives
- Ensured institute missions and visions were well represented to the public, to senior university leaders, and in fundraising activities large and small
Management and Strategy
- Leading manager in the design and launch of two major interdisciplinary enterprises in public and private institutions: The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts
- Designed institutional frameworks for five new research centers and implemented acquisitions of three existing research centers, resulting in expansion of research capacity and enhancement of discretionary resources
- Restructured community and public relations functions in two large university based interdisciplinary institutes resulting in improved efficiency, stronger partnerships (both internally and externally), and enhanced name and brand recognition
- Created strategic flexibility through spinoff, relocation, or well thought out closing of research centers
- Managed and analyzed a $67M internal knowledge venture portfolio with returns-on-investments up to 10:1
- Strategically managed budget cutting exercises of 5% and 10% and multi-year contractions with no significant loss of services to faculty and research centers
- Managed approval of new undergraduate major, continuation of multi-department minor, and design of environmental Masters of Public Adminstration degree
- Managed core operating budgets of $4 million and staffing (~8 direct reports / 50 total) to enhance interdisciplinary activities in both private and public universities
Research Development and Support
- Orchestrated preparation and submission of large, complex, multi-investigator and multi-institutional research proposals with roughly 30% success rate
- Implemented non-sponsored effort policies that improved security for soft-money researchers
- Negotiated research contracts with Federal and private agencies with minimal delay in research initiation
- Revised and re-scoped research programs funded at reduced levels while ensuring that central objectives were protected
- Participated in the design process of research buildings resulting in significant intellectual contributions to resulting building concept
Lewis E. Gilbert 