Jorja Kimball, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Jorja Kimball serves as the Executive Director of Research Development Services (RDS) in the Division of Research at Texas A&M University. In this role, she leads RDS in supporting the Texas A&M research community, strengthening the university’s research enterprise, and advancing special strategic projects and institutional priorities.

Kimball is a Regents Fellow — a permanent designation and the highest honor awarded to staff within The Texas A&M University System, -recognizing her more than 35 years of service in higher education and 25 years dedicated to proposal development and strategic research advancement. Throughout her career, she has contributed to securing more than $165 million in federal research funding for Texas, primarily through the National Science Foundation (NSF). She has also served as a principal investigator (PI) on federal awards from NSF and NASA and has reviewed proposals for NSF. Kimball is a graduate of Leadership Texas 1996 and served as a governor’s appointee for the former Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation.

She also served on the editorial review board for the Journal of Research Administration and earned its Most Valuable Editor award in 2023. Kimball attended and worked for nearly a decade in engineering programs at a Hispanic-Serving Institution, before entering the field of research development. Her dissertation examined the retention and progression-to-degree of engineering students, with her current research interests focusing on teamwork, coaching, and collaboration for research success. Prior to her career in higher education, she worked in the financial industry and served as a Chamber of Commerce executive.

Kimball holds an MBA and BBA from Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M University–Kingsville, a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, and was born and raised in rural South Texas.