Special Operations

Sarah serves the PSU Research Administration community by leading a team of Negotiators who are each responsible for diverse negotiation portfolios. She provides training and guidance to assist Negotiators with negotiating terms and conditions appropriate for an educational institution.  In addition to her management responsibilities, she also has her own negotiation portfolio.

Sarah serves as Chair of the Templates Committee, which is responsible for maintaining and updating PSU’s library of industry templates. She also has an extensive background in FAR Contracts and serves on Penn State’s FAR Committee, assisting with maintaining PSU’s FAR Matrix. Additionally, she is responsible for managing the bi-weekly OSP Negotiator Trainings. Sarah has also presented at the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and is a Penn State ACES Instructor.

Sarah began her career in negotiation in 2004 as a Contract Specialist working with the U.S. Department of Labor. In 2007, she came to Penn State as a Subcontracts Administrator in Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory, and in 2010 accepted a position as Negotiator in the Office of Sponsored Programs. Sarah was subsequently promoted to Senior Negotiator and then Associate Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs in 2021.

Sarah also negotiates the following special agreements:

• PLCB Wine and Beer Grants (multiple sponsors)