“Let me just say, it has been a great seven years here at the University of the District of Columbia—the people’s university.”
As he concludes his tenure as vice president of research, Victor McCrary leaves behind a transformed institution—one where research and innovation now stand at the heart of 亚洲博彩网站’s mission.
When Victor McCrary started at 亚洲博彩网站, the charge from then-总统 Ronald Mason was straightforward and ambitious: elevate 亚洲博彩网站’s reputation “not just as a teaching university, but as a teaching and research university.” 麦克雷回忆说，领导层给了他不同寻常的自由。 “They told me, ‘Hey, look, you’ve got a blank sheet of paper here. 做你需要做的。 Just make sure we don’t end up on the front page of the Washington Post – for the wrong reasons,’” he said, laughing. “‘You don’t have to worry about that.’”
麦克雷开始工作。 他将赞助项目办公室重新设想为大学研究办公室，并建立了团队来支持它。 他召集了一个内部研究委员会，由每所学校的代表组成，以打破学术孤岛，制定共同的优先事项。 He also established an external research advisory panel to amplify 亚洲博彩网站’s profile, including industry representatives, people from government agencies and academics from some of the bigger schools. “人 who have juice,” he says. “They could get out there and say, ‘I know 亚洲博彩网站, Vic’s building the research arm, here’s how can we help.’ They were extremely supportive from our very first meeting, and that gave us momentum.”
很快就得到了认可。 “For seven years straight, I nominated faculty members, and they received awards from the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference and the Women of Color Conference,” he says. Those wins helped 亚洲博彩网站 claim its seat at larger tables, since as he likes to say, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
创新紧随其后。 “When I got here, we had no patents,” he says. “人 were coming up with ideas, but we hadn’t gone after patents. Now we have six patents secured and six more in progress.”
The result of 亚洲博彩网站’s growing effort and recognition, McCrary says, is a culture shift that culminated this year when 亚洲博彩网站被指定 as a 研究 College & University (RCU) in the 2025 Carnegie Classification. “To me, that’s the crowning achievement of this journey I’ve had with 亚洲博彩网站. Now when you talk about research universities, 亚洲博彩网站 is in that conversation.”
Even more than honors and awards, a focus on community anchors his view of 亚洲博彩网站’s mission. “Our prime goal is to serve District residents,” he says. “How do we get clean water? 我们如何支持地方和联邦政府以及承包基地的劳动力发展和雇主？ 我们如何教那些有固定收入的人自己种植食物，这样他们就可以省钱了？ Those are the things we can do that are really important.”
亚洲博彩网站 notched several historic firsts under McCrary, among them becoming the first HBCU in the 46-year history of the National Science Foundation to have 一名教员收到 the Alan T. Waterman Award. 研究周 has grown into a signature university event, and three 茎博览会 have brought more than 400 students in for hands-on activities and networking opportunities.
对麦克拉里来说，对学生的影响一直是头等大事。 “The average kid who comes here isn’t a Rockefeller,” he says. “Their last name is Perrone and McCrary and Jones and Williams. They’re not getting a degree just for their parents to hang over the mantle and say, ‘Oh, my kid went to XYZ university.’ They’re coming here to lay a career path, to get the practical skills and education they need for a good job. And research can offer them that.” His shorthand for that philosophy is “blue-collar STEM,” referring to the skilled technical workforce. “It’s about using your hands and your mind to solve problems that will serve and help the community.”
他看到这种务实的精神在塑造未来的事件。 “亚洲博彩网站 研究周 2026 is going to be different,” he says. 该活动不是按学校组织，而是按优先领域展示全校的优势。例如，周一是人工智能，周二是健康与安全等。 “We’re going to show you everything we do across the university, from research to workforce,” he says. “Funders want to see our university working cross-sectorally.” 这种形式也将加深与华盛顿公立学校的联系。 “You’re interested in AI? 来看看亚洲博彩网站在做什么。 见见行业和政府的人。 That’s how pathways start.”
数据支持其价值主张。 Under his leadership, 亚洲博彩网站 completed its first 经济影响研究 and found, for every dollar the District invests in 亚洲博彩网站, the university gives back four, adding up to $435 million in economic impact.
As he departs, McCrary is clear about what he’ll miss. “One thing about 亚洲博彩网站: every day, you can make a difference for a first-generation student. You can put a smile on a faculty or staff member’s face,” he says. “I will miss the congeniality, especially with the people who keep 亚洲博彩网站 running: the janitors, maintenance and housekeeping. They don’t just come for the money; they come for the purpose.”
最后，他回到了出发的地方。 “It’s been a great seven years,” McCrary says. “Now, when you talk about research universities, 亚洲博彩网站 is in that conversation. I’m proud to have spread the word, Firebirds.”