Wanda Hutto, CRA
Director

(803)576-6042
huttowk@mailbox.sc.edu

Wanda Hutto is Research Development Director for the University of South Carolina (USC) Office of Research and Graduate Education. Her primary responsibility is to facilitate university-wide collaborative faculty teams to develop multimillion dollar multidisciplinary federal research proposals. As the Director, she has spearheaded efforts to obtain funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Homeland Security, Duke Endowment, and W.M. Keck Foundation totaling more than $400 million dollars.

In addition, she administers USC's Research Funding Programs, which, overseen by a multi-disciplinary faculty Research Council, are designed to enhance research infrastructure and increase external application competitiveness, faculty collaborations, and undergraduate research.

Ms. Hutto also directs the University's response to special funding initiatives. These include the federal economic "stimulus" bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA) of February 2009 and the Coastal Resiliency Information Systems Initiative for the Southeast (CRISIS) of August 2005. For ARRA, she coordinated a series of plenary meetings for administrators and faculty, led the creation and launch of the University's Stimulus Web page resource, and assisted USC faculty in identifying funding opportunities and submitting proposals to attract an additional $151 million (from sponsoring agencies including NIH, DOE, DOJ, NEA, and the SC Dept. of Public Safety) for large biomedical and behavioral research efforts and campus infrastructure projects. For CRISIS, she organized a National Summit showcasing USC researchers' Hurricane Katrina-related investigations (recovery of natural processes and ecosystems; societal changes stemming from relocation of impacted residents and communities' rebuilding) that attracted federal grants double the University's investment.

Also, Ms. Hutto designs, implements, and supervises the GRANT (Gamecock Research Administrators Network and Training) certificate program to build competencies in basic research administration among USC faculty and staff.

During her tenure with USC, Ms. Hutto has attended the USC Masters of Business program and earned her national Certified Research Administrator (CRA) from the National Research Administrators Certification Council (NCURA). Prior to joining USC, she spent nine years with the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) creating a water quality program that earned distinction as a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national model and administering the Statewide Water Quality Program funded by a $15 million federal grant, which included training grants for sub-recipient management personnel from local and state governments, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. While at DHEC, Hutto completed the Associate Public Manager Program and was recognized as Employee of the Year in 1997.

Before relocating to Columbia, Hutto worked in the Professional Development Office of the College of Charleston after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree there in 1989.

Beth Herron
Associate Director

(803) 777-2885
bherron@mailbox.sc.edu

Beth Herron serves as the Associate Director of Research and Grant Development for the University of South Carolina (USC), Office of Research. Beth facilitates university-wide collaborative multi-million dollar multidisciplinary federal research proposals. In this role, she assists research teams in the development of collaborative proposals by working with the other members of the Research Development team to facilitate preliminary meetings among research units, assist with the identification of collaborators and development of partnerships, and direct the proposal development process by creating timelines, organizing proposal sections, and coordinating submission. Beth manages the Office of Research's internal funding competition, ASPIRE, teaches multiple courses for the GRANT program, and oversees special projects for the office as needed.

Prior to joining the Office of Research Development, Beth worked as a Program Coordinator with the Institute for Families in Society (IFS), a multi-disciplinary research unit. She provided faculty with grant pre-award assistance, e.g. identifying possible funding opportunities, checking compliance with sponsor guidelines, preparing budgets, and assisting with proposal preparation and submission. Beth has worked at USC as a grants administrator for over 15 years, in departments as varied as Physics and the College of Social Work. She earned a BA in History from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and her Master's in Public History from the University of South Carolina.

Gayle Haddock
Research Development Training Coordinator

(803) 777-1168
haddockg@mailbox.sc.edu

Gayle Haddock serves as the Training Coordinator for the University of South Carolina (USC), Research & Grant Development Office. Her primary responsibility is to manage the GRANT (Gamecock Research Administrators Network Training) program, a comprehensive training program in research administration for faculty and staff. Gayle also manages outreach for the Research & Grant Development Office; provides assistance to faculty with funding opportunity searches through classes and one-on-one sessions; manages the COS/Pivot database; and provides support to a variety of research functions, including large collaborative proposals and the Institutional Review Board.

Prior to joining the Research & Grant Development Office, Gayle was the business manager for Angle Sports, Inc. a start-up sport fishing equipment company in Columbia; marketing director for Brunswick Corporation's Bluewater Marine Group in Newberry; and advertising manager for Shakespeare Fishing Tackle Co. in Columbia. From 2001-2004, she worked as a program coordinator in the School of the Environment at USC.

Gayle is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism & Mass Communications.

Richard White, CRA
Technical Writer

(803) 777-1568
whitejrw@mailbox.sc.edu

Richard White is a technical writer and manager for the Office of Research & Grant Development limited submissions program and the University of South Carolina's SmartState® Program. He joined USC after a 20-year career in marketing and public relations in both state government and publicly-held Fortune 500 health care, manufacturing, and distribution corporations. Richard earned his bachelors and masters degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication from USC, and his MBA from the University of Memphis. A GRANT program graduate, he has also been certified in research administration (CRA) by the national Research Administrators Certification Council, and has served as an adjunct professor in the USC College of Mass Communication and Information Studies.