Stuart Borrett

Stuart Borrett, associate provost for research and innovation at UNCW, will serve as rotating program director at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), according to a news release.

For the 2024-25 academic year, Borrett will serve at the NSF headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, stated the release from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. 

​Borrett joined UNCW in 2007 and is a professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology. As the associate provost for research and innovation, Borrett oversees seven reporting units on the Research and Innovation Service Team and serves as the university’s senior research officer and president of the UNCW Research Foundation. 

According to the release, Borrett’s work will support the NSF mission “to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense.”  

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the nation, support the advancement of scientific knowledge and learn more about the National Science Foundation,” Borrett stated in the release. “This is an exciting opportunity to work with NSF to transform the national research ecosystem to enable more people to participate and make new discoveries.”     

According to the release, NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across the country and U.S. territories in the nonmedical fields of science and engineering. NSF investments, mainly in the form of grants, contribute to roughly 25% of federal research support for higher education institutions throughout the U.S., the release stated. 

Borrett will be a program director in the NSF Office of Integrative Activities for the Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED) program.

“The GRANTED program supports the development of the research enterprise, particularly at emerging research and minority-serving institutions, to expand access and improve research support and service functions across the country,” the release stated. “Borrett’s duties will include making funding recommendations on received proposals, developing new opportunities for funding, interacting with potential principal investigators, facilitating merit review panels, monitoring ongoing projects and mentoring junior researchers.”

Alicia Knoedler, office head for the Office of Integrative Activities at NSF, stated in the release, “NSF’s GRANTED initiative addresses a number of systemic barriers in accessing resources for research, training and STEM education. The GRANTED team includes leaders whose knowledge of these barriers is extensive and who are innovators when it comes to reducing these barriers. Dr. Borrett is an exceptional leader and expert within the research enterprise and his wealth of knowledge and broad network of stakeholders will be welcome additions to NSF and the GRANTED team.” 

NSF rotating positions are chosen from a pool of applicants consisting of scientists, engineers and educators.

James Winebrake, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in the release that the NSF honor is a testament to Borrett’s “incredible talents, as well as the research enterprise we are building at UNCW to solve regionally relevant and globally important problems. Dr. Borrett’s work with NSF will strengthen our research network and provide a unique perspective into NSF operations and programs.” 

Borrett joined UNCW in 2007 and is a professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology. As the associate provost for research and innovation, Borrett oversees seven reporting units, serves as the university’s senior research officer and is president of the UNCW Research Foundation. 

During Borrett’s one-year appointment, Justine Reel has been selected to serve as the interim associate provost for UNCW’s research and innovation.  

Reel (pictured at right) brings over 19 years of administrative experience from various institutions, including her current role as the UNCW College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) associate dean for research and innovation and professor since 2014. She held previous interim appointments as CHHS dean and Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPARC) director.

According to the release, “Her experience and knowledge of UNCW position her to provide strong leadership for the university’s research and innovation enterprise while supporting the work and initiatives of the seven reporting units.”