Office of Research Administration Director Earns National Award

Scott Davis, research administration director in the Office of Research Administration at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences campus in Oklahoma City, has received the Julia Jacobsen Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of University Research Administrators.

Davis is the first person from OU to receive the Distinguished Service Award from NCURA. Named after Julia Jacobsen, a former secretary-treasurer of the organization, the award is presented annually to five members nominated by their peers. The official presentation was held at NCURA’s 67th annual meeting on Aug. 11 in Washington, D.C.

“[Davis] has an innate ability to detect future leaders and encourages volunteerism by providing avenues for involvement,” said Katherine Kissman, associate executive director at Texas A&M University and an NCURA colleague. “He has a calm, friendly, mature and steady manner that invokes trust.”

Davis has been involved in several capacities with NCURA during his 28 years of membership, including serving on the board of directors, as chair of Region V, as a contributing editor for NCURA Magazine, and as a member of the Financial Research Administration Conference Program Committee. He also served on Region V’s Mustang Mentoring Program Committee and as a mentor for the program. He previously received the NCURA Region V Distinguished Service Award.

Davis, who holds the designation of Certified Research Administrator, has worked at OU Health Sciences for 29 years. He now leads a team that annually processes millions in industry and clinical trial awards. For every industry contract awarded to OU, up to nine separate offices – from legal to human research participation protection and export control to biosafety – review the details. Davis’s team manages the process.

“Scientists want to do research; they don’t like red tape,” Davis said. “My job is to help them cut through all of that so they can do what they do best ­– advance human health.”

In the medical research profession, grants, subagreements, confidentiality agreements and drug trial contracts include dozens of pages of contractual paperwork. Managing these mountains of contracts requires trained contract experts, and expertise from NCURA – the country’s premier research administration professional society, with more than 9,000 members across 1,100 colleges and universities in 40 countries – keeps the vocation fresh.

“Volunteering with NCURA has been a cornerstone of my career, providing invaluable friendships and a sense of purpose,” Davis said. “Over the past 29 years, I've had the privilege of contributing to research administration, helping to improve global health in a small but meaningful way.”