Dear Lehigh faculty and staff,
After more than a year of preparation and evaluation, we are pleased to announce that Lehigh University has partnered with Huron Consulting Group to implement the university’s first electronic research administration system. The system, when fully implemented in the Fall of 2022, will provide faculty and staff with enhanced proposal submission and award management tools, and will support improvements in the processes involved in preparing, submitting, accepting, and managing grants. The system will be known as the Lehigh Integrated Research Administration (LIRA).
Over the course of 2021, members of the Research IT Task Force, which includes representatives from across the university, generously contributed their time, effort, and ideas to catalog our needs and evaluate potential vendors through live demos, surveys, and consultations with other research universities. The Huron Research Suite was selected for the close alignment of its capabilities and functionality with our needs.
Regular updates on implementation progress, as well as opportunities to learn more, will be shared on the LIRA website, and on the Lehigh events calendar. We will be reaching out to the faculty senate and other groups in coming weeks. In the meantime, please bring any questions you have to the LIRA project manager or project sponsors listed on the website.
We thank the following members of the current LIRA implementation team, who are working closely with Huron and their colleagues to determine the configuration of the system, which will be fully implemented later this year.
Joe Bates, Administrative Specialist, College of Arts & Sciences
Jenny Chao, Research Program Development Specialist, VPR
Susan Disidore, Associate Director, ORSP
Erica Gluszynski, Manager of Information Systems, LTS
Erin Karahuta, Research Integrity Manager, VPR
Jennifer Kershner, Accounting Coordinator, Controller
Katrina Kraft, Financial Manager, Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
Chad Kusko, Director, Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy
Ainsley Lamberton, Administrative Director, VPR and LIRA Project Manager
Ellen Liebenow, Contract and Grant Specialist, ORSP
Heather Messina, Assistant Director of Administration, College of Health
Sarah Riccaboni, Contract and Grant Specialist, ORSP
Libby Seyfried, Business Manager, College of Arts & Sciences
Brett Smith, Director, Small Business Development Center
Gina Sierzega, Senior Research Program Development Officer, College of Education
James Wagner, Senior Analyst, LTS
Dominic Wallitsch, Manager of Research Accounting, Controller
Best,
Nathan Urban, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Alan Snyder, Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies
Cynthia Kane, AVP of Research and Sponsored Programs and Project Sponsor
Ilena Key, Chief Technology Officer and Project Sponsor