Ruth Jeffries                                                                                     
Director, Research and Sponsored Programs
Phone: (509) 963-2640
Email: ruth.jeffries@cwu.edu

Ruth serves as the university’s Director of Research and Sponsored Programs (teaching, research and other activities supported by external grant funds).  As an experienced grants professional, she assists faculty and staff in identifying, securing, and managing grants.  She enjoys engaging with a diverse range of scholarly and creative ideas while working with faculty from across all disciplines, and then seeing those transformed into funded projects that make a meaningful difference at the university and beyond.

Ruth has been working with grants for more than 15 years.  Prior to coming to CWU in 2018, she served in the grants office of Lawrence University in Wisconsin and at the University of Dubuque in Iowa as well as doing freelance grants work for several other institutions.  Ruth grew up in Colorado Springs and double-majored in English and history at the University of Denver.  She completed her Master’s degree and did PhD work (ABD) in English at the University of Minnesota, so not surprisingly she loves to read and discuss books.  She also enjoys traveling and has served as a host for international students for many years.  Her dream is to one day, after she has retired, go on a trip around the world to visit all of them in their own countries.

Leslie Hunter                                                                                  
Grant and Contract Coordinator, Research and Sponsored Programs
Program Coordinator, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Phone: (509) 963-3111
Email: leslie.hunter@cwu.edu

Leslie serves as the Grant and Contract Specialist, working with the Director of Research and Sponsored Programs in the pre-award functions for the university. She assists faculty and staff in identifying funding opportunities to support their specific needs, assists in the preparation and submission of proposals, coordinates the internal approval process and tracks contracts/subcontracts. Leslie also is the Program Coordinator for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). In this role, she provides administrative support to the IACUC and ensures that researchers and faculty using live vertebrate animals are compliant with federally mandated policies.

Before Leslie joined CWU in March 2015, she worked at a private consulting firm from 2010-2015 that specialized in grant writing and program evaluation. Leslie was an integral part of their grant-writing team, collaborating with team members to support the grant writing process by researching and analyzing data, developing proposals and submitting the final proposals. She also supported several evaluation projects by monitoring and analyzing program reporting data and assisting with the preparation of federal program performance reports. Leslie worked at a non-profit agency from 2005-2010. There, she worked with 21st Century afterschool programs and Employment and Training Programs. During this period, she managed the compliance of contracts and worked closely with administrative staff to ensure program success.