SUBJECT:

New Assistant Vice Chancellor for Contracts and Grants

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ross Dammann as Assistant
Vice Chancellor for Contracts and Grants. He begins his new position
effective April 1, 2020.

Mr. Dammann has worked for UC San Diego for over six years, most
recently as the Managing Director of Operations and Analytics in the
Office of Contract and Grant Administration (OCGA). In this role he
provided operational leadership and analytical services to the Assistant
Vice Chancellor for OCGA and the Vice Chancellor for Research. Since
joining OCGA, Mr. Dammann led the department through a restructuring
aimed at improving service to the research community, implemented
streamlined workload management processes to improve workflow and
through-put, and most recently assumed a leadership role on several
major campuswide initiatives including Kuali Research. As lead on OCGA
analytics and reporting, Mr. Dammann has advanced OCGA’s analytical
capabilities to enhance reporting, improve operational performance and
identify new opportunities and insights into UC San Diego’s research
portfolio. Mr. Dammann’s extensive skills, expertise and knowledge about
UC San Diego’s complex structure of sponsored research will enable him
to lead the OCGA operation to meet the challenges and goals of the
future.

Prior to joining OCGA, Mr. Dammann held positions at the UC San Diego
School of Medicine supporting business intelligence and working closely
with Human Resources leadership to provide strategic analysis of human
capital. Before coming to UC San Diego, Mr. Dammann spent over 10 years
in the private and public sector working in management consulting,
education and analytics. As a management consultant, Mr. Dammann worked
with top-tier corporations to solve business issues, create value for
customers and improve business performance using a data-driven approach.

Mr. Dammann received his undergraduate degree in psychology from the
University of Oregon. He received his Master of Education from the
University of Southern California, his MBA from UC Irvine, and is a Lean
Six Sigma Black Belt.

As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Contract and Grant Administration, Mr.
Dammann will shepherd a research portfolio exceeding $1.35B, and ranked
7th in the nation in research expenditures. He will be responsible for
strategic leadership of contract and grant operations; ensuring that our
sponsored research portfolio complies with federal, state and university
requirements; and providing effective stewardship over the solicitation,
negotiation and acceptance of sponsored project funding received by UC
San Diego. This position reports to the Vice Chancellor for Research.

Mr. Dammann replaces Linda Collins, who is retiring in June after 33
years of dedicated service to the university. She has had a profound
impact on reorganizing contract and grant services to more effectively
serve faculty across campus, including the recent transition to the new
Kuali Research grant management platform. We will celebrate Linda’s
contributions to the university’s success this summer.

Please join me in congratulating Ross Dammann on his new position.

Sandra A. Brown Vice Chancellor for Research