Celebrate Neal's Contributions to UVA

Neal Grandy has been the Director of Arts & Sciences (A&S) Research Administration for the past 20 years. Some of his colleagues shared their reflections on working with Neal as a way to celebrate his retirement and acknowledge his contributions to the UVA community. UVA has been richer for having Neal in its community.

From Michael (Mick) Watson, Director of Operations, Contemplative Sciences Center

As Director of A&S Research Administration and managing a $50 million portfolio, Neal received all the grant applications for the entire school, made sure they were properly prepared, and submitted them to sponsors by the required deadline. I worked with Neal for 7 years while I was Department Administrator in the Department of Religious Studies. For a non-science department, Religious Studies had a large amount of grants, many of them multi-year, international, and complicated. Neal helped me learn and navigate through those and spent much more time than he ever should have felt obligated to. I’ve been in the Contemplative Sciences Center under the Provost office for the past 7 years but I continued to call Neal whenever I had a grant question that seems unusually complicated.

Neal often returned to the office in the evenings to work through the grants in order to meet deadlines. I remember Debbie Mincarelli (Director, HR Service-Academic Support) telling me she would often see Neal coming back to the office around 8 pm, when she was on her way home. In recent years several other staff were hired to assist with A&S grant submissions but for many years it was just Neal, which seems crazy upon reflection.

Neal prioritized helping the faculty and went out of his way to be a reliable asset for them. His good humor really helped when impossible-seeming deadlines were looming. He had a commitment to producing top-notch proposals and I think that resulted in how successful A&S was in securing research funds over the years.

From James (Jim) Galloway, Sidman P Poole Professor of Environmental Sciences

I have worked with Neal for a long time, initially in his multiple roles in Environmental Sciences and then for the past twenty years in his role as Director of Arts & Sciences Research Administration. In that context I have two observations:

First, Neal gets things done. In the multitude of grant-related problems that I have gone to him for help on, he has always solved them with efficiency and grace.

Second, Neal has a wicked sense of humor (be sure to ask him about his special fondness for unique calendar dates). This combination of humor and professionalism is a model for us all!

Neal's effort contributed to the A&S faculty members' success in submitting grant proposals that were ultimately awarded funding, providing groundbreaking research, advancing knowledge, and providing employment for thousands of faculty members, research scientists, staff, and students….in essence, he was the “secret sauce” to their success. Debbie Mincarelli, Director, HR Service-Academic Support

From Debbie Mincarelli, Director, HR Service-Academic Support

Neal and I worked together when I was the Director of HR in A&S. Neal was actually considered an honorary member of the A&S HR Team. Much of the budgeting for grants involved people, which included salaries and involved HR policies. Outside of the HR Team, Neal knew more about HR policy for faculty, PRS, and staff than anyone else in the A&S Dean’s Office. We partnered to combine knowledge and expertise to ensure the grant proposals included appropriate levels of funding for the scope, duration, and type of work proposed, so we eliminated potential issues right from the start. We also used creative thinking to help the faculty achieve their research goals, while working within policies and regulations.

Neal was one of the most conscientious and trustworthy employees I have ever worked with. He would work whatever hours necessary (many times 70+ hours in a week) to ensure grants were submitted by the deadline – even if he received them the day of the deadline. Neal also helped to ensure grant extensions were submitted in a timely manner and worked closely with sponsors and government agencies to maintain his and our faculty’s reputation for delivering on the proposals.

Neal's effort contributed to the A&S faculty members' success in submitting grant proposals that were ultimately awarded funding, providing groundbreaking research, advancing knowledge, and providing employment for thousands of faculty members, research scientists, staff, and students….in essence, he was the “secret sauce” to their success.

Neal helped to create the Dean’s Office “community.” Every Friday, we would all gather to walk to the corner to get Pizza for lunch….and he contributed to the monthly Birthday celebration – a gathering for everyone to enjoy cake, ice cream, and various treats while socializing with each other…so not only was he great at his job, he helped to create a spirit of camaraderie within the Dean’s Office.

There will never be another Neal Grandy. Someone will need to bring a new pair of shoes with them when filling his position because his are just too big to fill.