U-of-I sees record in "External Funding"

While the number of state dollars flowing into the University of Iowa has dropped in this tight budget time — the outside dollars are coming in at a record pace. David Skorton, a University of Iowa vice president, says the 341-million dollars taken in from outside sources in the last year is notable in a couple of ways.It was the biggest fundraising year in the history of the university, and the biggest single year increase in “external support.” Skorton says the increase was due to an aggressive attitude toward seeking grants, gifts and contracts for the school He says there’s also been an increase nationwide in research dollars available to all schools.Skorton says the U-S Department of Health and Human Services contributed the most to the U-of-I’s external income with nearly 184-million dollars. That’s up 33 percent from last year. The National Science Foundation increased its input by 14 percent to 10-point-six million dollars. The Department of Education upped the money it sent to the university by 41-percent, to 15-point-four million dollars. Skorton says it’s the 16th straight year the U-of-I has raked in over 100-million dollars in external support.