UI external support totals $252.6 million for 1999-2000

David Skorton

"Although we’re down slightly from last year—a year in which we registered a 20 percent increase—this is still a remarkable influx of research dollars that represents impressive initiative and accomplishment by University of Iowa faculty and staff in the writing and winning of grants and contracts," said David J. Skorton, vice president for research. "We see nothing on the horizon to indicate that this year’s slight downturn is anything more than a temporary plateau in the steadily growing research enterprise that has been building here over the last decade."

The total for FY 2000, the 12-month period ending June 30, 2000, surpassed the $200- million mark for the fourth year in a row. In 1999 the University attracted $259.5 million in external funding, and overall external support figures for FY 1998 and 1997 were $217.3 million and $208 million, respectively.

The 2000 fiscal year also marked the 15th consecutive year in which the University of Iowa has attracted more than $100 million in external support. Since 1967, when overall records were first kept, the University has attracted $3.48 billion in total external support.

President Mary Sue Coleman commented that UI external funding results from the hard work of faculty and staff.

"In this fiercely competitive environment, I am thrilled that our sponsored programs have topped $250 million for the second year in a row, thanks to the initiative and ingenuity of our hard-working faculty and staff," she said.

Skorton said that UI external funding permits the University to accomplish the many things that make Iowa a true international research institution.

"Support by the federal government and by the private sector through partnerships with industry make it possible for our faculty, staff, and students to participate in the discovery and investigation that is the heart of laboratory work," he said.

"External support also facilitates scholarly and creative activities in the social sciences and the arts and humanities. In addition, such support enables students to be involved in research and creative activities, thereby strengthening their educational experiences."

The principal external funding sources for UI research and development during FY 2000 (compared to FY 1999 amounts) were:

• Public Health Service (includes NIH), $123 million (down 1%)
  
  
• National Science Foundation, $7 million (down 19%)
  
  
• National Aeronautics & Space Administration, $6.6 million (down 24%)
  
  
• Dept. of Education, $10.7 million (up 1%)
  
  
• Dept. of Defense, $4.5 million (down 27%)
  
  
• Industry, $34 million (down 14%)
  
  
• State, $23.9 million (up 8%)
  
  
• Foundations, $25.2 million (up 14%)
  
  
• Other private, $9.2 million (up 10%)
  
  
• Miscellaneous federal, $8.4 million (down 6%)

Brian Harvey, assistant vice president for research and director of the UI Division of Sponsored Programs, said that this year’s report doesn’t mean that fewer federal dollars are flowing into the University, but instead is a reflection of how and when the awards are recorded. He also credited UI faculty and staff with applying for a total of $408 million in external funding during FY 2000, up by $8 million from the previous year and a record-high effort.

Article by Gary Galluzzo

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