By MARTY LEVINE
Growing up in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburb of Wilkins Township, Eric Larson says, “as a kid, I always knew I wanted to go to Pitt. I always knew I wanted to work at Pitt.”
And here he is, electronic research support and system administrator in the Office of Sponsored Programs, having joined the University in 1999 after graduating as a history major from the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences.
“I wanted to go to school for something I was interested in but not necessarily something that would lead me on a career path,” Larson says. And when he first sought a Pitt job — in what was then called the Office of Research — “I had no idea what the office did.” But quickly he realized, “I found something I enjoyed and I didn’t have to go down any other path.”
Starting as grants and contracts assistant and then officer, Larson quickly moved into research administration, eventually becoming part of his office’s information services team — the bridge between records administration and all the different software systems, internal and external, that Pitt people seeking grants must navigate, from sponsorships for an art exhibit to multimillion-dollar funding from the National Institutes of Health.
“My job is particularly tough to explain — it’s different every day,” he says. “It’s never boring. Do they need help with budgets? With registering for a system” required by the federal government? Does a new employee need to be guided through Pitt’s internal grant tracking software, MyFunding?
Everyone’s particular issue, on any given day, “is of the utmost importance to them, no matter how big or small the project,” he says. “I try to help all of them with the same amount of patience and care. I try to give them all five-star attention.”
As a help desk lead for MyFunding, he also frequently talks to Pitt IT staff, translating user issues into terms that IT developers can best use. He also trains employee groups on preparing proposals and tracking funding.
And if anyone needs to know the history of his office, he’s also put together a presentation on its past facilities and leaders. After 25 years, he’s become the office’s go-to person.
“I go to a lot of people for help too,” Larson says. “The Office of Sponsored Programs is full of a lot of brilliant and wonderful people who are always helpful. I certainly don’t have the answers to all the questions that come to me.”
It helps, he says, that he is certified through the Research Administrators Certification Council and that he has been involved as an officer and on committees of the Council of Research Administrators.
But his Pitt focus has even broadened in the last few years – he is a single dad of two kids, and his older one, Travis, is a junior at the University.
“Some people will jokingly say that they bleed blue and gold,” Larson says. “I really do. I love Pitt. I always have.”
Marty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu or 412-758-4859.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.