Officials announced Wednesday they appointed physics professor Evangeline Downie as interim vice president for research, effective July 10.
Downie, who currently serves as associate dean for research and strategic initiatives in the Colombian College of Arts & Sciences and leader of the arts and sciences research support team, will assume the role ahead of incoming Provost Edward Balleisen’s search for a permanent vice president this fall. Robert Miller, who held the interim position for two academic years, will return full-time to the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and his other roles as vice dean for research and academic affairs and as a professor of anatomy and cell biology.
“I look forward to collaborating closely with the team in the Office of the Vice President of Research, the schools and senior leadership to support the creative, scholarly and research efforts of GW’s faculty, staff, students and postdocs,” Downie said in a University release.
As CCAS associate dean for research and strategic initiatives, she has supervised initiatives including the CCAS Research Showcase in spring of 2023 and CCAS Early Career Brown Bag Lunch Series in fall of 2024, which helped create a “strong” culture of research in CCAS, according to a University release. Downie also leads the arts and sciences research support team — which assists faculty, staff and students involved in research across six schools with proposal submission and post-award transactions — supporting over 200 principal investigators, over 500 awards and up to 300 proposals a year.
GW has not had a permanent vice president for research since August 2024, when former vice president Pamela Norris stepped down after holding the position for nearly three years.
Downie will be responsible for overseeing research support groups and improving the University’s research infrastructure among other research-related goals in the University’s strategic framework — an outline of priorities the University plans to accomplish in the next five to seven years. One of Downie’s early focuses will be filling open positions in GW’s research offices, according to the release.
Downie said she looks forward to engaging with groups such as the Faculty Senate Research Committee and faculty advisory groups, including a working group being created to improve support for clinical research, while focusing on the University’s strategic framework.
“We will work together to prioritize the goals of the strategic framework, continue to build a research ecosystem that will extend the impact of GW’s scholarship and appropriately support the people who drive that core aspect of our collective mission,” Downie said in the release.
Balleisen, who worked with outgoing Interim Provost John Lach to appoint the interim vice president, said Downie will help the University meet its goal of enhancing research amid a “complicated” funding and regulatory environment. President Donald Trump’s administration has cut millions of dollars in research awards and funding and instated changes about research focus since he came into office in January 2025.
“I am grateful to Professor Downie for her willingness to engage full time in the role of interim vice president for research,” Balleisen said.
