Current activity: I have been an active bench researcher, awarded both an NIH and a Durnham American Cancer Society Fellowship during my post-doctoral experience at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, and I have received several federal research awards. I continue to be involved with a number of institutional research committees. Given this involvement in research and education, I was asked to serve as Associate Dean for Resource Planning in the College of Medicine. In this role, I developed the college's first formal review of academic departments, for both basic and clinical science departments. Having a contractor's license has contributed to my interest in administrative facilities issues and helped me pioneer the College's Space Management System.
     This System was developed to identify research space occupants who had little or no history of sponsored research. This information was used to evaluate requests by department chairs to the dean for additional research space, and the outcome of those requests was often based on college-wide averages and benchmark. When I moved from my College post to the Provost's Office in 2000, I expanded the academic space to include all six colleges. I have been one of the strongest advocates to the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) for acquiring comparative space information. I have served as an active member (and committee member) within this organization, including the Group on Institutional Planning (GIP), Group on Business Affairs (GBA), and the Group on Information Resources (GIR).
     My experience as a faculty member, laboratory researcher, institutional researcher, and administrator enables me to bring a unique perspective to this collaborative project. My current role at MUSC requires an understanding and an appreciation for other research-intensive universities and academic health centers. Serving as the Director of University Strategic Planning since 1996, I have authored the first university wide strategic plan in the school's 184 year history, and am co-directing current efforts to develop a second plan.

Abbreviated Professional Experience:
   Dates:                  Position:
   2000 - present     Associate Provost for Institutional Research and Assessment, MUSC
   1996 - present     Director of University Strategic Planning, MUSC
   1991 - present     Professor of Microbial Physiology and Genetics, MUSC
   1990 - 1999        Associate Dean for Resource Planning, College of Medicine, MUSC
   1972 - present     Faculty member at MUSC, Charleston, SC
   1969 - 1972        Post-doctoral Fellow at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA

Patents: Immunosuppressive Extracellular Products from Oral Bacteria. Inventors: Thomas B. Higerd and Jean-Michel Goust. U.S. Patent No. 4,268,434. Issued May 19, 1981.

Bibliography: Over 25 full articles and 20 abstracts in scientific peer-reviewed journals and proceedings.