Research Development

As Director of FAU’s Office of Research Development, Jeanne Viviani has more than 20 years of grant management and research development expertise. She received her MPA and a BA in International Studies with a minor in Business Economics from the University of South Florida. Prior to FAU, she founded and directed two sponsored research offices, New College of Florida and Florida Polytechnic University. Working one-on-one with faculty to presenting material and workshops to larger groups, Jeanne enjoys helping faculty achieve their research goals. Her areas of focus include NSF, NEH, DOD and others in the basic arts and letters and sciences. Additionally, she spearheads the larger University-wide strategic initiatives through proposal project management and works with senior level staff on future institutional development ideas. Jeanne is responsible for overall leadership of activities conducted by the office.

Mitzy serves as the Research Development Coordinator. She received her BA in Biology from Florida Atlantic University and a certificate in Environmental Science. Mitzy has been part of the FAU staff team since 2018, most recently as Quality Assurance Manager at Owls Care Health Promotion. Prior to joining FAU, Mitzy worked at the Native Plant Horticulture Foundation where she curated, developed, and managed digital content to establish the inaugural Native Plant Specialist education hub. In both of these roles, Mitzy supported her time with developing sustainable systems to collect, organize and display key performance indicators and embraced learning new technologies to maximize content interaction.

Regina serves as the Strategic and Economic Initiatives Manager. She holds an MBA from Nova Southeastern University and a BA in Theatre Studies from the University of Central Florida. Regina acts as the liaison between faculty, students, and startup companies. She assists in bridging the gap between faculty and student research initiatives and entrepreneurial innovation through grant funding opportunities, program management, and collaborative partnerships. Prior to joining FAU in 2017, Regina managed fitness facilities successfully increasing profits through customer relationship management and team building techniques. Regina coordinates the limited submissions process at FAU. She also manages the FAU Wave program, a student applied research and entrepreneurial competition, as well as the NSF I-Corps program which challenges faculty and students to conduct customer discovery interviews related to their research. Regina encourages faculty and students to look beyond their research efforts to realize their commercial potential, and also coordinates the Division’s Limited Submission process.