Cynthia Sagers will join Arizona State University’s Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development in September as vice president of research.
Sagers will be responsible for research development activities; growing the university’s proposals, awards and expenditures; and overseeing specialized research development projects. Sagers previously was vice president for research at Oregon State University, where she led the university’s research enterprise and worked to expand the university’s entrepreneurial and economic development activities. Under her leadership, the university’s research revenue increased by 55 percent.
“My work is focused on creating equity, accessibility and excellence in academic research,” Sagers said. “At Arizona State University these qualities blend with outstanding leadership to create the nation’s most innovative university campus. I am thrilled to be joining ASU as its next VPR.”
Prior to OSU, Sagers was associate vice provost for research at the University of Arkansas. She also served as a senior research associate with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Research Council, and as a program officer for the National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering and Division of Environmental Biology. She earned two bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences from the University of Iowa and a PhD from the University of Utah in ecology and evolutionary biology.
“Cynthia Sagers is a proven leader who has advanced cutting-edge research and scholarship during her roles at Oregon State University, the National Science Foundation and the University of Arkansas,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at ASU. “We look forward to the energy, leadership and initiative she is sure to contribute as ASU’s knowledge enterprise continues to scale rapidly and expand our impact globally.”
In addition to her work in KED, Sagers also will be a professor in ASU’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.
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