Anderson named to exclusive national research group
Sheri Anderson, NDSU associate vice president for strategic research initiatives, has been named an Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities Council on Research Fellow for 2025.
Anderson is one of only eight research leaders nationwide to be named to this year’s group. COR is comprised of senior research officers from the public research universities in the United States and strives to help those individuals share information and advice on common issues and university practices.
The COR Fellows group was created to help individuals who are new or aspiring vice presidents, vice chancellors and vice provosts in research to build essential knowledge, skills and relationships to carry out these complex campus roles and to share their own knowledge base with their peers and the larger COR community.
The COR Research Leader Fellowship is designed to help emerging research leaders broaden their expertise beyond their current areas of responsibility. At many universities, research support functions are divided into specialized units, such as research administration, development, compliance, communication, economic development, or sponsored programs, limiting leaders’ exposure to the full research enterprise.
This 12-month fellowship provides an opportunity for participants to expand their knowledge across these domains and build valuable connections through site visits and active participation in COR meetings, engaging with COR’s broad network of senior research officers. APLU, of which NDSU is a member, is an organization with the mission to foster a community of university leaders collectively working to advance the mission of public research universities. The association includes 250 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and affiliated organizations across all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, six U.S. Territories, Canada and Mexico.
“I am honored to participate in this fellowship and I appreciate the opportunity to gain insights from a group of colleagues while acquiring new knowledge and skills that will directly enhance our team's effectiveness in supporting NDSU's research enterprise,” said Anderson.
Anderson has been at NDSU for 27 years and has played a role in the growth of research support at the university and has served as the NDSU associate vice president for strategic research initiatives since 2022. Her Strategic Research Initiatives team supports faculty teams in developing large, collaborative, and multi-stakeholder proposals, and implements and manages strategic programs including state funding for increasing research competitiveness. Prior to that role, she led a team to create NDSU’s research development office and the NDSU EXPLORE program. She also has served as a grant writer, grant administrator, and in operations and program management at NDSU.
“Due to her wide-ranging experience, she will contribute valuable insights and be able to share in areas of coverage not typically held by Associate Vice Presidents or Vice Presidents for Research,” said Colleen Fitzgerald, NDSU vice president for research and creative activity. “I see this as the ideal next step for Sheri in terms of her leadership development. I am eager for her to join the network of COR Fellows and grow her network, relationships and expertise and bring that back for the benefit of NDSU’s research and creative enterprise.”
The new Fellows will join seven previous cohorts and will be formally introduced at the 2025 Joint COR-CGA Summer meeting in late July in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“Professional development for emerging research leaders is a necessary and essential investment into the future of our nation’s universities,” said Irem Tumer, Vice President for Research and Innovation at Oregon State University and chair of COR. “The COR Fellows program is designed specifically to provide the knowledge and experience for our future leaders to help deliver on this mission and grow our global leadership in research and innovation.”