A warm welcome to Alycia Lewis who has accepted the Department of Geography’s offer to be the new Contracts & Grants Manager for Geography. She replaces Beilei Zhang who held that position for 25 years and formally retired at the end of June.
Alycia is a UCSB alumna who graduated in 2002 with a B.S. degree in Zoology. She has extensive experience in research administration and worked for the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, and the California NanoSystems Institute before joining the Geography department. She is also a RACC Certified Research Administrator and says that she is fascinated by the research that takes place at UCSB.
When interviewed, Alycia mentioned that she’s a Southern California native and loves the beach and being outdoors. Her favorite activities include running, stand-up paddle boarding, and hiking, and she is an avid animal lover. She has a passion for cooking, especially baking sweets for others, and is a huge basketball fan (go Lakers!). Alycia also stated that she enjoys helping others and loves to make people smile, and she added that she is excited to be a part of the Geography team and looks forward to working with everyone in the department. We, in turn, look forward to working with her!
Editor’s note: During her interview, Alycia modestly omitted the fact that she is one of the only two Certified Research Administrators on the UCSB campus, and that there are only about 2,500 active CRAs in the entire U.S. “The CRA designation is granted in the United States by the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) to individuals who demonstrate the knowledge necessary to serve as an administrator of professional and sponsored research programs. Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree, possess at least three years of related experience, and pass the Certified Research Administrator examination before being conferred the right to use the CRA designation” (Wikipedia: Certified Research Administrator).
