{"691573":{"#nid":"691573","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Faculty Support Coordinator Embraces New Challenges After Promotion","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGwendolyn Kearney is always open to new challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe took on a new one when she was promoted in the spring to Faculty Support Coordinator II in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to submitting proposals for SIC faculty to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, or other government agencies, Kearney manages the hiring of student workers in the School. This can exceed 1,000 students over the course of the year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s graduate teaching assistants, graduate research assistants, student assistants, and graduate assistants, all of them,\u201d Kearney said. \u201cI enjoy learning new things.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKearney said she\u2019s always been able to find new things to learn while working in financial administration, a field she discovered in high school through a summer job in accounts payable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think that\u2019s where it all started,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKearney has held several finance roles since she moved to Atlanta 20 years ago. She spent 10 years at Georgia State University before joining SIC\u2019s administrative staff in 2023.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring her career, the New Jersey native has handled everything from preparing spend authorizations and managing budgets to scheduling events, processing travel expenses, faculty supplies, and reimbursements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn SIC, she balances all of that with the most important part of being a faculty support coordinator \u2014 grant proposals. The funding that faculty rely on for their research hinges on Kearney meeting deadlines under pressure. While she does less of that now, it can still create a heavy workload throughout the year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou just have to stay on top of it,\u201d Kearney said. \u201cBefore you know it, it\u2019s due, and you might not get everything you need until the day of. Then this has to be changed, and something else isn\u2019t right.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt can be a lot if multiple proposals are due around the same time. But knowing that you helped work on a proposal that was rewarded is a good feeling.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough she was born in New Jersey, most of Kearney\u2019s family is from Georgia. She and her husband are New York Knicks fans and recently celebrated the team\u2019s first NBA Finals championship since 1970.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen her mother and sisters started returning to their roots in Georgia, she figured she should move to the Peach State since she was visiting so often.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe always came to visit family,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mother and father saved all their vacation and took a month off every summer, and that\u2019s what we would do. My mother ended up going back to Georgia, and then two of my sisters moved here. I started visiting them a lot and thought I might like to live here.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKearney said she most enjoys spending time with her extended family in Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the Fall 2026 semester begins, her job will be as busy as ever, as she estimates she will have to process hundreds of student hires.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a challenge,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m still learning, and I\u2019m enjoying that part of it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to submitting proposals for SIC faculty to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, or other government agencies, Kearney manages the hiring of student workers in the School. This can exceed 1,000 students over the course of the year.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Gwendolyn Kearney is taking on the challenge of hiring hundreds of student workers after being promoted to Faculty Support Coordinator II."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-08-07 19:36:05","changed_gmt":"2026-08-07 19:37:50","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680821":{"id":"680821","type":"image","title":"IMG_5015-copy.jpg","body":null,"created":"1786131382","gmt_created":"2026-08-07 19:36:22","changed":"1786131382","gmt_changed":"2026-08-07 19:36:22","alt":"Gwen Kearney","file":{"fid":"265143","name":"IMG_5015-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/07\/IMG_5015-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/07\/IMG_5015-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":148767,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/07\/IMG_5015-copy.jpg?itok=By2HCe_m"}}},"media_ids":["680821"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}