Meet Dawn Free – Research Grants Coordinator

To help enhance support for researchers and support staff, the Faculty of Arts and Science has added Dawn Free to the team in the position of Research Grants Coordinator.

One of the main goals of the position is to act as a resource for all academic departments by establishing a community of practice among research support staff. The position will also foster additional research opportunities by providing more administrative support to smaller departments within the Faculty. The position also works with the FAS Finance Team on the administrative side to support Canada Research Chairs, Research Initiation Grants, and other Faculty commitments to departments and researchers.

“Currently, we have started a pilot project where I’m working with a group of smaller departments in providing administrative support for research,” explains Free. “This is exciting, as some researchers are new to Queen’s or are just starting in their careers and it is rewarding to be able to help support the Departments and Faculty navigate the Queen’s research process.”

Free started her career with Queen’s 13 years ago in the School of Environmental Studies.

“Karen Depew supported and provided me with so much knowledge to help advance my career with Queen’s,” she says. “I then moved into a position with two remarkable researchers, Dr. Michael Cunningham (Chemical Engineering) and Dr. Philip Jessop (Chemistry) as their administrative assistant for seven years where I gained an incredible amount of skills in the management of two large research programs.  I learned the ins and outs of how the Queen’s research community runs and how to support researchers to allow them to concentrate on their research programs and less on administrative tasks.”

Next, an opportunity opened within the Chemistry Department as the Financial Coordinator, where she improved her financial management skills by supporting researchers and performing administrative functions within a large, research-intensive department. This role allowed me to understand the needs of Queen’s researchers and what departments can do to support them.

Now she is working in the new role of Research Grants Coordinator within the Faculty of Arts and Science.

“I have always appreciated the amazing research that is happening all over campus,” Free explains. “I wanted to move into a role that would allow me to work on the administration side of research. This position looked like a great way to use my skills and knowledge from working directly with researchers and within a department setting to this position to be able to support research on a much larger scale.  I have been a big advocate of sharing knowledge across campus; I love that this role allows me to create a forum for doing this and for fostering research within Queen’s and FAS.”

When not on campus, Free loves spending the summertime paddle-boarding at her family cottage near Sharbot Lake and going outside for walks with friends and family. She also enjoys reading when she’s not being bothered by her talkative Siamese cat named Lulu.