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Review to evaluate accounting office changes

Its staffing and departmental reorganization completed, the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting will undergo a peer review to evaluate the effectiveness of changes begun in the spring of 1997. 

The review will examine the structure and processes of the office to ensure that adequate grants and accounting, administrative procedures, systems, organization and staffing are in place. It will be conducted by three skilled research administrators from three premier research universities.

The review will also emcompass any other areas the review team deems appropriate. 

Among the changes was a merger of the former Grants and Accounting Office and the Sponsored Programs Reporting Office into one, new department headed by David Welch, director of Grants and Contracts Accounting. 

Prior to a site visit, scheduled for August 18 through 20, the team will be provided with a complex package of information on the university and begin its review. 

Approximately 30 days after the site visit, the review team will provide MUSC with a written report identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the grants and contracts accounting and administrative areas with recommendations for improvement. 

The research administrators, conducting our review, are: Ron Tremea, Jerry Fife and John Richards. Tremea is the director of Governmental Accounting and Support Services at the University of Utah and has more than 25 years experience in research administration. 

Fife is the director of Contract and Grant Accounting at Vanderbilt University and has worked in research administration at Purdue and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Richards built his career at Loma Linda University, Emory University, DHHS-Division of Cost Allocation and is now director of Federal Financial Accounting at the California Institute of Technology. During the spring of 1995, Richards spent some time at MUSC auditing the Indirect Cost Rate Proposal while employed at DHHS. The three research administrators will help MUSC determine what amendments or additional services the university should provide to help investigators in accomplishing their tasks. 

During the scheduled peer review, Tom Higerd, Ph.D., associate dean for resource planning in the College of Medicine, will moderate an open forum on research compliance and other issues. The forum will be held on Aug. 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. in room 100 of the Basic Science Building. 

Questions about compliance issues should be sent in advance to ensure an accurate and timely response. Send any questions or recommendations of specific areas that the Peer Review Team should evaluate to Jeannine Mathews at Harborview Office Tower, room 606 or e-mail them to mathewsj@musc.edu.