Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center Administrative Core and Senior Leadership Project Summary/Abstract The primary focus of the Simmons Cancer Center Administrative Office is to provide efficient and effective administrative, planning, and financial leadership to all Cancer Center operations, and deliver added value to the Cancer Center's financial support, including the Cancer Center Support Grant. The specific aims for this Core support this philosophy and guide all primary functions of this office: • Maintain timely, effective, and efficient administrative and financial functions, and ensure that they are integrated and coordinated with key institutional departments and offices; • Guide Simmons Cancer Center strategic planning by monitoring and evaluating research outcomes and impact, and reporting back to Senior Leaders and Institutional Executives; • Deliver value-added support to Cancer Center members by facilitating collaborative, transdisciplinary, and multi-investigator research; and • Manage consistent and effective communications with all internal and external constituents. Since 2009, Cancer Center Administration has made significant progress in meeting the needs of a growing cancer center. The total annual budget is now $76.3 million, up from $33.7; while the total staff managed are now 382, compared with 192 in 2009. As well, new administrative data and information systems that support Cancer Center research have been implemented in conjunction with institutional departments. Over this same period the number of programmatically aligned Cancer Center members increased from 112 to 164. Cancer Center Administration has also responded to a marked increase in peer-reviewed funded projects, which now total $102 million (up from $64.2 million in 2009), and annual clinical trial accruals of 1,221, up from 633 in 2009. The Senior Leadership team that in addition to the Director, James Willson, MD, includes Joan Schiller, MD, Deputy Director; Michael White, PhD, Associate Director-Basic Science; Celette Skinner, PhD, Associate Director-Population Science; Jerry Shay, PhD, Associate Director-Training and Education; and Tim Strawderman, PhD, Associate Director-Research Administration. This leadership team, together since 2007, brings complementary expertise to development and implementation of the Center's strategic plan as well as program evaluation. Importantly, each senior leader is well established and respected by peers across the UTSW campus and has been highly effective in building engagement and increased awareness and participation in the Center and is responsible for setting direction, implementing initiatives, and internal evaluation. This group of leaders has been particularly committed to program building, recruitment, and mentoring.