The Office of the Director is charged with overseeing all center activities and supporting the overall mission of the Office of Research and Economic Development at Mississippi State University. The office provides leadership, coordinates initiatives, and oversees the scholarly and applied research, systems development, administration, and communications activities. The office's major responsibility is to secure and manage resources necessary to enable people to achieve their personal and collective goals and is responsible for developing appropriate fiscal and management strategies and long-range plans. The office also ensures that the center provides an intellectual hub for promoting research and scholarship aimed at addressing complex social and economic issues in the state, the region, the nation, and the world. The office is also charged with formulating and implementing "big data, big picture" solutions for a wide variety of constituencies including state, federal, private and international entities and programs.

To carry out all the center's activities, the office of the director is actively engaged with other units on campus. The office works with Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) and the Office of Regulatory Compliance to facilitate pre- and post-award activities. It engages with the Office of General Counsel and the Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer to protect intellectual property. The office interacts with Human Resources Management to assure compliance with hiring and personnel policies. It also engages with departments, colleges, and centers and institutes to establish and expand the center's intellectual capacity around signature areas of distinction.