University Research Corridor (URC), an academic research alliance between three Michigan universities, has appointed its interim executive-director, Britany Affolter-Caine (pictured), to the position permanently.
Affolter-Caine will be tasked with directing the corridor’s strategy and operations. She succeeds Jeff Mason, who became URC’s first executive-director in 2009 but left in June 2017 to become CEO at public-private partnership Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
URC aggregates the intellectual resources of Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Wayne State University, which together spent $2.3bn on research and development in 2016.
Before joining URC in 2012 as program manager, Affolter-Caine had spent a year as the director of talent enhancement for regional economic development organisation Ann Arbor Spark.
Previously, she had been an independent consultant focused on higher education and the environment, guiding non-profit clients through processes such as grant writing, policy research and strategic planning.
Affolter-Caine received a PhD in higher education policy from University of Michigan in 2007. She began her career as a senior research associate with public policy think-tank Brookings Institution and was also once director of regional business advocate Detroit Regional Chamber’s internship program.
Affolter-Caine said: “I welcome the challenge of building on the success of my predecessor and our university leaders, the continued opportunity to work with colleagues across our three great institutions and the chance to extend our relationships with government, industry and non-profit partners.”
– Photograph courtesy of URC
