The Spotlight section focuses on a broad topic of interest to A&M System employees and retirees. This month, Lee Peddicord, vice chancellor for research and federal relations, answers questions about the A&M System’s federal initiatives.
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Dr.
Lee Peddicord heads the A&M System’s federal relations office.
Systemwide: How is the A&M System’s federal relations structured? What is its relationship to our efforts at the state level?
Peddicord: Effective interaction with government at both the state and federal levels is of critical importance to the A&M System. In Austin, Dr. Stanton Calvert, vice chancellor for governmental relations, and his team represent the System’s interests with the state.
The Office of Research and Federal Relations is responsible for supporting the A&M System’s research mission and oversight of System interaction at the federal level, especially on Capitol Hill. All A&M System members—the nine universities, seven agencies and health science center—are actively seeking support at the federal level.
Working with me at A&M System headquarters are Tami Davis Sayko, associate vice chancellor for research and federal relations, and Ann Wallingford, assistant to the vice chancellor. In Washington, D.C., through the Texas A&M Research Foundation, we retain the services of Meyers and Associates. Larry Meyers, Lowell Randel, Irina Kolontay and Stoney Burke serve as our Washington representatives. Lowell, Irina and Stoney are all graduates of System universities.
The D.C. office also serves as a resource for faculty, researchers and administrators from System universities and agencies who come to Washington. We provide assistance for all parts of the System for interaction on Capitol Hill and federal agencies. All interaction with members of Congress and their staff must be coordinated through the D.C. office.
How are the A&M System’s federal initiatives developed?
These initiatives are developed annually, and the process begins in mid-summer. We ask each System member to develop its federal initiatives for the upcoming federal fiscal year, and the Office of Research and Federal Relations is responsible for carrying them forward from the point of conception to ultimate conclusion.
Many initiatives involve requests for action by Congress, while others are focused on federal agencies. Not all initiatives involve seeking federal funds but may deal with “authorizing” legislation being considered by Congress. This can address key policy issues impacting the System.
After we receive the initiatives, we carry out an assessment with the purpose of improving each one. This is done in coordination with administrators and researchers across the System.
We also seek to identify cross-cutting, collaborative opportunities with other institutions of higher education in Texas and elsewhere, and with the private sector. The Washington, D.C., office carries the initiatives forward to the appropriate Congressional offices.
“We have seen the level of federal funding increasing every year.”
What are some of our priorities at the federal level?
In the area of research, we are focusing on building research capacity across the System and more effectively marketing ourselves at the federal level. For example, the federal relations team, including the staff from the D.C. office, visits each A&M System member at least twice a year. This allows our group to become more familiar with the researchers at each university so they can become more successful advocates of our programs back in Washington. It also enables our faculty and administrators to learn more about the process at the federal level.
In addition, we are working to bring more members of Congress and their staff to Texas so they can see our programs first hand.
Finally, we are offering increasing numbers of Systemwide seminars on topics such as grant writing and increasing familiarity with key federal agencies such as the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health that are principal sources of grants coming into the System. Anyone interested in getting more information on these activities can contact Ann Wallingford.
Our office is also involved in a variety of other activities that seek to strengthen the A&M System presence and success in Washington, D.C. We are working to raise the visibility and recognition of the capabilities of the A&M System and make us a more effective “player” at the national level.
What are some recent success stories?
We have seen the level of federal funding increasing every year. A number of the projects have been a result of the federal initiative process.
To cite a few examples, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has been very effective in its efforts with the Department of Defense for the Partnership Simulations Lab for Health Professions Education and the Virtual Clinical Lab for nursing and other health professions.
The Health Science Center this year obtained $3 million for a major new collaborative initiative to design and test the delivery of pharmaceuticals using new types of capsules and nanoparticles.
The National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) in the Texas Engineering Extension Service continues to be a key component in training first responders across the country and around the world against incidents with weapons of mass destruction.
All these activities have involved coordinated efforts of the federal relations team working intimately with our institutions and agencies to successfully bring these initiatives to the attention of key decision makers at the federal level.
How does the office interact with the members of Congress representing Texas?
Because the A&M System has activities in virtually all of the 254 counties in Texas through our agencies, we enjoy widespread support from the Texas delegation.
This is especially important on issues that have a major impact on all of our universities, such as the reauthorization every six years of the Higher Education Act, which authorizes the major federal student aid programs that make up the majority of our financial assistance programs. Tami Sayko has coordinated our response and led the efforts to develop System positions on proposed legislation. She has visited with key members of Congress outlining our interests on this important legislation.
The support of the Texas delegation is beneficial in many other ways as the System pursues an expanding range of federal initiatives.