Washington University Office of Technology Management’s Gina Duncan Smutz was awarded the University Operations Award for 2023. The award recognizes a Central Fiscal Unit (CFU) employee who provides exceptional customer service to the University’s employees, students and community members and who demonstrates extraordinary contributions to WashU missions of education, research and patient care.
In her role as Compliance Manager, Gina Duncan Smutz is responsible for all federal and foundation compliance activities related to inventions disclosed to Washington University. She has a BA degree in Political Science and a Paralegal Certificate from Webster University, has worked in technology transfer at Washington University since 2014, and the Purdue Research Foundation from 2010-2014.
Gina has expanded the exposure and outreach of OTM nationally with her multi-year involvement with the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). She has held leadership roles with AUTM, including serving on the compliance committee since 2018, and currently serves as the 2023 compliance co-chair on the operations and compliance planning committee. From 2021-2022, she served on the AUTM Job Task Analysis team and help to develop a detailed overview of the tasks and competencies associated with various positions in the field of technology transfer. Gina went on to modify the deliverables of this team into a comprehensive onboarding plan for new WashU OTM employees, introducing them to the fundamentals of university tech transfer.
Gina’s contributions to OTM are invaluable. She consistently provides excellent service and support to our WashU innovators, is a leader in the area of federal and foundation compliance efforts, and works to educate OTM’s new staff on the nuances of tech transfer.
Nichole Mercier, PhD, Assistant Vice Chancellor & Managing Director, Washington University’s Office of Technology Management
The University Operations award is a new university-wide award in 2023, specific to Central Fiscal Unit employees. Read more about the 2023 staff recognition and milestone service awards here.
