Coordinated Operating Research Entities

Welcome to Strategic Operational Services (S.O.S)

The mission of Strategic Operational Services (S.O.S.), formerly known as TASC, is to deliver timely, expert-level support to the University of Maine community. Through the enhancement of operational efficiency and effectiveness, S.O.S. empowers faculty, researchers, and staff to concentrate on the University’s core mission of advancing world-class research and education. A fundamental strength of S.O.S. is its ability to leverage existing expertise from a range of disciplines and areas across campus.

Under the leadership of UMaine’s Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, Kody Varahramyan, Strategic Operational Services (S.O.S), is a need-focused organizational model that consolidates specific operations in order to reduce inefficiencies and duplicative costs while maintaining high levels of expertise and customer service.

Operating units are able to contract time to secure needed talent from expert level providers while avoiding the requirement to hire new staff to fulfill occasional needs.This centralized model fosters broad institutional access to a shared pool of specialized professionals, thereby reducing the need for individual grants or laboratories to hire dedicated personnel. In doing so, S.O.S. promotes greater cross-unit collaboration and ensures the delivery of high-quality, scalable support services.