PrintFASTRAC is a no-cost service that provides immediate assistance to FAS departments and centers by filling short-term research administration (RA) vacancies. The idea for the establishment of a FASTRAC team came from within FAS departments, and the program was launched in response to departmental needs for highly-trained RA professionals in order to alleviate workload and thus mitigate compliance risk.
In addition to filling vacancies, FASTRAC is also available to help FAS departments with research administration needs during heavy proposal submission deadlines, large-scale collaborative proposals, special pre- and/or post-award projects, as well as helping with on-boarding and mentoring new research administration staff.
FASTRAC Procedures
Cost: At this time, the services are provided at no cost to FAS departments.
To request services: For FASTRAC information and inquiries, please write to FASTRAC@fas.harvard.edu, or directly contact FASTRAC Specialists Barbara Rankin (brankin@fas.harvard.edu, 6-6888) and Rady Rogers (rmrogers@fas.harvard.edu, 7-9215).
Location: Specialists may be located in departments or in Research Administration Services. Specialists are equipped with a mobile phone and laptop.
Duration: FASTRAC assignments are temporary (normally less than three months) and are not geared towards resolving long-term workload issues. In the case of long-term overload, FAS RAS may be able to advocate for a permanent departmental solution.
Scope: FASTRAC is designed to provide research administration services. However, FASTRAC may consult with the Administrative Systems Assistance Program (ASAP) in the FAS Office of Finance to cover non-sponsored financial and administrative tasks.
FASTRAC Personnel
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Barbara Rankin (FASTRAC Specialist) began working in research administration at Harvard in 1995. Prior to working at FAS RAS she was the Manager of Grants Administration at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine where she worked directly with faculty, staff and students on their research administration needs. She has a broad range of pre- and post- award skills and also has extensive experience preparing and submitting grant applications through Harvard's Grants Management Application Suite (GMAS). |
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Rady Rogers (FASTRAC Specialist) came to FAS in 2006, starting her work at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) where she supported three senior faculty and their sponsored and non-sponsored portfolios. More recently Rady worked as an ARRA Project Specialist at FAS RAS where she managed the FAS grants awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Her pre- and post-award expertise, as well as her familiarity with FAS-specific systems and FAS culture, make Rady a great resource for your department’s needs. |
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Karen Woodward Massey (RAS Director of Education and Outreach) manages the FASTRAC program and coordinates RAS outreach efforts, working closely with departments, RAS and the OSP to ensure that research administrators have the information, clear responsibilities, simple policies, and easy to use systems they need to do their jobs. Karen oversees research administration educational sessions in FAS, including a cadre of grants administration workshops. |
