Becoming legitimate academic subjects: Doing meaningful work in research administration

Professional staff in research administration work closely and collaboratively with academic staff. Examining administrators’ provides a point of entry for investigating culture the Canadian Academy. We focus on interviews 19 administrators from 5 universities within larger project social production research. draw Davies’ theorisation subjectification to analyse as sites wherein subject is produced. argue this positioned legitimate through arrival stories characterised incidental and/or strategic move away precarity, descriptions their meaningful due proximity research, care The administrator strives gain legitimacy her positioning ally