Trudy Vincent, a long-time Congressional aide, has joined the University of Chicago as Associate Vice President for Federal Relations, effective Feb. 11.
Vincent, who has worked for three U.S. Senators, will lead the Washington, D.C.-based Office of Federal Relations, which is part of the University’s Office of Civic Engagement. She will represent the University in policy discussions that bear on key University activities, including research funding, student aid and health care. She also will support faculty and students who engage with policy matters.
“Many national legislative and policy decisions have significant implications for the scholarship and research taking place across the University of Chicago, including at UChicago Medicine and the two national laboratories we manage, Argonne and Fermilab,” said University President Robert J. Zimmer. “Trudy will provide important leadership in representing the University to a range of federal constituencies.”
“Trudy brings more than two decades of Capitol Hill experience and credibility to this role and has specific expertise in issues of health care, science and education,” said Derek Douglas, vice president for civic engagement. “I am confident her knowledge of the legislative process and strong relationships in Washington will be invaluable in identifying opportunities and resources to help further the University’s academic mission.”
Vincent succeeds Scott Sudduth, who held the position until December 2011. Matthew Greenwald, who has been serving as the acting head of the office, will continue in his role as senior director.
During 26 years on Capitol Hill, Vincent served in various roles. She began her career working on health and education issues for Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, and then moved on to serve as legislative assistant for health care issues for Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. She served as legislative director for both Mikulski and Bradley before taking on the same role with Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and eventually becoming Bingaman’s chief of staff until his retirement in January 2012.
“I am excited to join the University of Chicago and have the opportunity to represent such a world-class institution in Washington,” said Vincent. “In addition to being a leader in higher education, UChicago’s position as manager of Argonne National Laboratory and the Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, as well as its own distinguished medical center, place it at the forefront of science and academic medicine. It is critical that the tremendous value of the resources and insights available through the University’s major research units be adequately considered in discussions of research, science and education policy.”
The University established the Office of Federal Relations in 2008 as part of efforts to be more actively engaged with federal legislation and developments affecting research funding, higher education issues such as financial aid and student support, and health care issues that affect academic medical centers. The University also supports the robust inquiry and diversity of ideas its faculty and students bring to policy matters. As the University’s top representative in Washington, Vincent will promote the University’s perspective on higher education and research policy to Congress and the Executive Branch. She also will be responsible for identifying federal funding opportunities and for fostering interaction between Federal Relations and state government.
Vincent graduated from Duke University and received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Maryland. She completed a one-year pre-doctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine and was also a fellow at the Yale Bush Center on Child Development and Social Policy. She also served as a Congressional Science Fellow, which began her work on Capitol Hill in 1986.
The University of Chicago is one of the world’s leading universities, with more than 2,200 faculty and academic personnel and students from 50 U.S. states and 70 countries. It operates a major medical center; the nation’s largest academic press; two national laboratories (Argonne and Fermilab); the renowned Nursery through 12th-grade Laboratory Schools that have led many innovations in education; and four charter school campuses on the South Side of Chicago that operate as part of the University’s Urban Education Initiative. UChicago is also one of the nation’s leading research institutions. In fiscal 2012, the University was awarded $466 million in sponsored research funding, about half of which came from the Department of Health and Human Services and an additional 13 percent from the National Science Foundation.
—Prof. Kunle Odunsi
