Dr. Michelle “Mickey” Stevenson leads the Office of Research Integrity by supporting the Rice research community’s highest standards of research integrity and scholarly excellence. The Office works together with faculty to facilitate an innovative and productive research environment within an appropriate ethical, legal, and professional framework. Areas of responsibility include human research protections; laboratory animal welfare; biosafety protocols; export controls; conflicts of interest and commitment in research; research ethics; and research misconduct. Mickey joined Rice following twelve years at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where she held many administrative roles, including senior associate vice president for research integrity and infrastructure. In additional to leading research compliance and ethics there, she also held responsibility for the laboratory animal resources center, laboratory safety, core research facilities, and various offices of research administration, including pre-award, post-award, and contracts and industrial agreements. She also served as the research integrity officer and was an instructor in the department of psychology. Prior to UTSA, Mickey served in the Office of Research and Technology Transfer at the University of Texas System Administration in Austin, TX.
 
Mickey defines her administrative role as assisting researchers in meeting regulatory and contractual requirements related to research while reducing administrative burden to the research community. She enjoys establishing collaborative working relationships with faculty, staff, and students to achieve research goals while ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and university policies.
 
Stevenson earned her doctorate in human development and family studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from North Carolina State University. She has been designated as a certified compliance and ethics professional (CCEP) by the Compliance Certification Board. Prior to moving to Texas, she was an assistant professor of adult development and aging at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.