The University of Iowa raked in an all-time record haul of more than 382-million dollars in grants and contracts for research and education during the just-ended fiscal year. Meredith Hay, vice president for research at the U-of-I, says that’s an increase of almost five-percent from the previous year.
Hay says "The numbers we’re talking about are really because of the extraordinary drive and commitment of the faculty and students and staff of the University of Iowa. Without that passion for knowledge, that passion to know and to discover, these numbers would not be possible and the rankings would not be possible. It really is about the people and it really is about the faculty." She says it’s the sixth consecutive year the U-of-I surpassed the third-of-a-billion dollar mark and the 21st straight year of bringing in more than 100-million dollars. Hay says she was stunned to see they reached 382-million for fiscal ’07.
Hay says: "This is an extraordinary number. I can’t underscore that enough. These record-breaking numbers are directly due to the passion and drive and will of the faculty and students and staff of the University of Iowa. And this is in the face of relatively flat federal funding budgets, so this is truly an extraordinary accomplishment."
A National Science Foundation survey ranked the U-of-I 18th among public universities in terms of federally-financed expenditures for research and development, while the National Institutes of Health put the Iowa City institution 13th for awards among all public universities. She says the money is broken down as being 256-point-five million from federal sources and 125-point-seven million from non-federal sources.
Hay says: "These are contracts and awards and grants for very specific projects and programs. They aren’t part of the general fund. They don’t go into a black hole of nothing. The faculty use them to address very specific contracts and grants and programs that are within N-I-H, the C-D-C and other agencies. It’s monies for work to be done."
The overwhelming bulk of the U-of-I’s research money comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with nearly 194-million dollars. Others federal agencies include: the National Science Foundation at 13-million, NASA at eight-million, U.S. Department of Education, 17-point-six million, and more than 13-million from the Department of Defense. States contributed more than 33-million, about 42-million from industry and another 33-million from private organizations.
While the University of Iowa saw nearly a five-percent gain in its external funding for the just-completed fiscal year, Iowa State University saw a reversal. ISU reports a drop of nearly three-percent, hauling in 272-million dollars during the year, compared to 280-million the previous year. It marks three years in a row of declines for Iowa State, as the Ames institution brought in 287-million during fiscal 2005. This past year’s take for ISU is down more than five-percent from fiscal ’05.