USCBe Informed: News & Happenings

USCB Announces New USCB Director of Research

On March 1, Dr. Cindy Lahar will assume responsibilities as Director of Research. This will follow the well-deserved retirement of Dr. Amy Sears on February 28.  

Amy became the Director of Research in 2020. Amy has been a tremendous resource to faculty and staff, enabling the institution to maintain an average of more than $1 million in grants funding over the course of multiple years. During calendar year 2021, USCB faculty and staff garnered more than $3 million in external funding. Along the way, Amy has mentored many faculty and staff in developing their project from early stages to make them viable for grant consideration. 

Dr. Cindy Lahar received a BA in psychology from UNC Charlotte, and MA and PhD in psychology from Brandeis University. She has taught at universities in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia. Recognitions include being named a Carnegie Scholar by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2004 and receiving two Fulbright awards for research and teaching in Cambodia (2004 and 2006). She still works with the only psychology department in Cambodia at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and recently taught at Vietnam National University in Hanoi in the institution’s first PhD program in Clinical Psychology. Other achievements include numerous funded awards and peer-reviewed publications, and advisement of numerous graduate students. At USCB Cindy teaches a variety of psychology courses while investigating new ways to motivate her students for classroom success. She looks forward to working with faculty and staff to support them in finding funding opportunities and to helping them bring award applications to fruition. 

Reporting to the Provost & Executive Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Director of Research provides vision, support, and leadership on matters related to pre-award administration of sponsored projects. With a goal to build and enhance research and extramural funding at USCB, the Director provides support to faculty and staff in the development and submission of grant proposals. Specific activities include opportunity scouting, pre-award consultations, hands-on proposal development, proposal review, coaching/mentoring, and early-career training/outreach. 

We congratulate Amy in her retirement and her successful service to USCB, and welcome Cindy in assuming her new responsibilities.