Saying Goodbye – Julia Hoffer

If you’ve ever worked in a grant-funded research center you probably know just how important having a professional grants administrator on your team is to the success of your projects. This week our long-time grants administrator Shu-Tyng (Julia) Hoffer is departing RRCHNM for a new opportunity at one of the other Georges (Georgetown) here in the greater DC metro area. We’re all very sad she’s leaving and thrilled for her that she has this new opportunity to grow and expand her already considerable talents.

Julia joined the team at RRCHNM in 2016 after spending 10 years in a similar roles within George Mason University. Our center’s operations are particularly challenging for someone like Julia because we have grants from federal agencies, private foundations, state funds, corporations, and non-profit organizations, each of which has its own rules around what can and can’t be paid for, how the spending has to be reported, and who must approve what along the way. And the grants manager also has to be able to navigate the many rules of and accounting systems for the Commonwealth of Virginia, all while trying to make sure that all our funders are happy with the ways we spend their money.

In other words, it’s a challenging job that requires a high level of attention to detail, the ability to navigate complex bureaucratic processes, and to make sure everyone gets paid on time (and the right amount).

Over the past six years Julia has imposed discipline on our grants (and the PIs responsible for those grants). And she has done so with good humor, a high level of tolerance for all of our inability to remember which grant uses which fund number. We’re going to miss Julia very much.