Dr. Joanne Romagni began her position as Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School over the Summer. A Chicago transplant, Romagni previously worked with DePaul University as Associate Vice Chancellor of Research. Now that she’s had a chance to settle in, she talks about what attracted her to this position and opens up about her vision for UTC, and the plans that she is setting in motion.
“The interesting thing in this position is that there are so many different hats,” said Romagni. “You’ve got the research and creative endeavors side, which is really cool because you’re helping faculty do what they love to do. So you have to facilitate, and it doesn’t matter if it’s in history or if it’s in art; it’s really exciting to help people do what they love to do, and maybe try and cut down any obstacles.”
Romagni explained that she was attracted to this position with UTC because it is “the perfect intersection of all of the things that are going on.” She said, “The campus itself is poised to make that next step…there is so much going on with the Innovation Center and the opportunity to work with Oak Ridge. The administration is supporting the faculty and their endeavors. Not just in words, but also by providing funding for faculty, undergraduates, and the graduate students. So it was a great place to come and make a difference.”
Romagni’s vision is to focus on collaboration and foster relationships. She’s partnering with Anne Yoachim to build what they are calling Affinity Groups. The idea is to bring people from different studies and professions under one similar umbrella, where they can collaborate their research and achieve a common goal.
She described, “We would bring them together to start brainstorming about things that they might be interested in doing, and overlap into what they do. Then, how might they look for funding? How would we supplement their research and scholar so that they could continue? Because, interdisciplinary is the way to go these days.”
She also wants to connect departments and staff to enhance the Graduate School with efficiency and to combine their resources to attract more students.
Romagni is excited about expanding undergraduate research. She recognized the Honors College for their phenomenal job of building that culture here, but she wants to increase that intellect.
“We don’t want it just for honors students, we want it for anybody who would be interested,” said Romagni.
She explained that she has seen first-hand how research can spark passion in a student. She has watched students transform from a C average to an A when they become engaged in what they study.
Romagni added, “They end up being the ones who go to medical school or graduate school and go on to be the professionals because of these experiences.”
Romagni received her PhD from Arizona State University in Plant Biology, and taught Biology for many years. Her favorite subject to teach is, “plant physiology, hands down.” She continued, “I love photosynthesis and pathways.” She is teaching a course next semester, and continuing her role as a plant physiologist.
