Keynote Speakers
Jarralynne Agee
Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Miles College
Dr. Jarralynne Agee is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Special Assistant to the President at Miles College, where she also serves as an Associate Professor of Psychology and Criminal Justice. She began the reaffirmation process as SACSCOC Liaison and later served as Provost, leading the academic team through a successful reaffirmation with zero findings during the global pandemic.
She is the Lead Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation Collaborative Research: IDEAS Lab: The HBCU Ujima Collective: Building Research Capacity at HBCUs through a Grow Your Own Research Corps Model (NSF Award #2430319), a $3 million award uniting Miles College with Howard University, Tennessee State University, Morgan State University, and Winston-Salem State University.
A founding faculty member of the Psychology major at Miles College, Dr. Agee is also the founding chapter advisor for Chi Alpha Sigma (athletic honor society) and Alpha Lambda Delta (first-year honor society). She has led study-abroad experiences to Egypt and Japan, mentored students in national security fields through the ODNI Center of Academic Excellence, and is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy.
Dr. Agee has secured more than $10 million in funding from NSF, the U.S. Department of Education, DOJ, National Park Service, Apple, and other funders. Nationally, she is recognized for her grant writing expertise and has delivered grant training workshops for the SBA Women’s Business Center program, Congresswoman Terri Sewell, and others. She has also lectured on artificial intelligence and its role in research capacity-building.
She and her husband, Dr. Robert Agee, Jr., a sports medicine physician, are proud parents of two third-generation HBCU students.
Almesha L. Campbell
Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University
Almesha L. Campbell, Ph.D., RTTP, is the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University (JSU). In this capacity, she overseas Sponsored Programs, Grants and Contracts, Research Compliance, the Office of Innovation Management, JSU Global, and all TRIO programs. She is an exemplary leader in research, technology transfer, innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. She has secured and managed approximately $12M in federal grants from multiple funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, Leidos, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and Delta Regional Authority. She plays a pivotal role in various federally funded innovation and commercialization programs such as the National Science Foundation Mid-South I-Corps Hub, Accelerating Research Translation (NSF ART), and the National Institutes of Health Mid-South REACH Hub, highlighting her commitment to advancing entrepreneurship and research translation.
Almesha co-developed the JSU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to leverage the best of JSU’s STEM, business and entrepreneurial capabilities to foster talent development, university industry partnerships, and drive economic impact. Initiatives such as the JSU Innovation Fellows Program, the micro-credential program, the certificate program in AI and Data Science for Cybersecurity, and integrating virtual reality into the STEM curriculum showcase her role in shaping the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs, preparing students to be ready for the future of work.
Dr. Campbell served as chair of the AUTM Board of Directors for 2023 – 2024. She also serves on the advisory board of the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) and is affiliated with national organizations including the Licensing Executives Society and the Society of Research Administrators International. She is also an honorary member of the National Academy of Inventors.
Dr. Campbell holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration and a master’s in mass
communications from JSU, as well as a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the University of
Central Florida.
Jill Frankenfield
Associate Vice President, Sponsored Programs Administration at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
Jill A. Frankenfield is the Associate Vice President, Sponsored Programs Administration at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). Jill has over 20 years of experience in the pre and non-financial post award areas of research administration, including proposal review and submission, award review and acceptance, and contract negotiation. Her career started in 2003 as a Contract Administrator at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Jill also worked as a Contract Negotiator in the Corporate Contracts Division of the Office of Technology Commercialization at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Prior to joining UMB, Jill held a series of roles of increasing leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park. Jill is responsible for strategic leadership and direction to Sponsored Programs Administration staff in office operations and functional services for the administration of proposals and awards for extramural funding.
A member of NCURA since 2005, she serves as an at-large member of the NCURA Board of Directors, as NCURA Traveling Workshop Faculty, and as Region II Professional Development Committee Traveling Workshop faculty. Jill has presented at many NCURA meetings including FRA, PRA, the NCURA Annual Meeting, and at Region II Spring Meetings on a variety of topics including contract negotiation, subawards, and general research administration topics. She is a recipient of the NCURA Region II Distinguished Service Award.