The importance of our academic consortium is right there in our name: Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
What began as 14 founding universities in 1946 has grown to 135 sponsoring institutions, with 26 associate member universities in 2025. The Council of Sponsoring Institutions is made up of these 135 entities, selecting the ORAU Board of Directors, and drawing the chair and vice chair from the Board.
Rebekah Hersch, Ph.D.
Rebekah Hersch, Ph.D., serves as the chair for the Council of Sponsoring Institutions, while Quincy Quick, Ph.D., serves as the vice chair. Both have a strong background and passion for research and are bringing that to their roles on the Council.
Hersch is the associate vice president for Research and Innovation Initiatives at George Mason University (GMU) in Virginia. The Office of Research and Innovation Initiatives oversees GMU’s research development services, assisting faculty identify and obtain research grants. Hersch joined GMU in 2017 after spending 30 years as a soft-money funded researcher. She wrote research grants and conducted research on behavioral sciences and psychology, including substance use/abuse prevention, mental health and HIV/AIDS prevention. However, she is thrilled to be pursuing her current work and passionate about helping faculty and showing others how well a career change can work.
“I remain at Mason a kid in a candy store,” she said. “My role in the Office of Research and particularly research development services—as well as my work at ORAU—allows me to learn about nuclear energy work or other kinds of STEM workforce development. I continue to learn every day from incredibly smart people.”
Quincy Quick, Ph.D.
Quick serves as the associate vice president for research and sponsored programs at Tennessee State University (TSU), where he oversees the university’s research ecosystem and enterprise.
“My role involves building and expanding our research capacity and capabilities as well as forming diverse partnerships across academia, government agencies and other academic institutions,” he shared. “This aligns with my involvement on the Board of Directors at ORAU.” Quick emphasized the importance of engaging with the Council of Sponsoring Institutions to strengthen TSU’s connections with research organizations across Tennessee.
“ORAU is based in Tennessee, and TSU is a historically black college and university (HBCU),” he explained. “It’s important that we create partnerships with as many entities and stakeholders as possible in the research space in the state of Tennessee. So it was a natural fit, I think, in many ways. Participating in the Council gives you a different perspective about things. It gives a clear understanding about what the research focus is outside of the scope of your own institution.”
In addition to his administrative duties, Quick is passionate about his research in brain tumor biology and spends his free time writing manuscripts and reviewing articles in the field.
“I love research, the independence of it. I like the creativity of it, so I do it all the time,” he said.