Spending on research dipped slightly for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in the most recent fiscal year as the university works to boost one measure of research output used in national rankings of colleges and universities.
Research expenditures totaled $120,462,840 for the 12-month period that ended June 30, a decline of 1.47 percent from a year earlier when spending totaled $122,262,088, according to data provided by the university.
"What I see is that we're down just a little bit," said Jim Rankin, the university's vice provost for research and economic development, adding that, "to me, we really are coming off the stimulus years."
The UA System, which includes 11 colleges and universities, received more than $160 million in stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to Recovery.gov, the government website recording stimulus spending designed to kick-start an ailing economy.
Rankin also noted last year's sequestration, which curbed federal spending. At UA, nearly half of research outlays come from state or federal research awards, he said. These often involve UA faculty members applying for competitive grants.
Other funding sources include industry partnerships, private foundations and the university's internal budget, Rankin said.
But recent awards suggest research spending will rise in future years, Rankin said. His office tracked a sharp increase in research awards for the main university campus, with $59.1 million during fiscal 2014 -- a 31 percent increase compared to $45 million received in fiscal 2013. The numbers don't include the total amounts of multiyear awards, Rankin said, so they are not skewed by the announcement of large grants.
"I think things look bright," said Rankin, adding that the university has taken steps such as creating a research council for its engineering college to boost research.
Overall, faculty members are writing more research proposals, he noted.
"I think we're getting more and more engaged in the research enterprise," Rankin said.
The spending total is just one component of rankings done in the past by The Center for Measuring University Performance. University leaders have said their goal is for UA to be among the top 50 public research universities.
In 2012, UA stood 96th among public institutions in research spending, according to the National Science Foundation, which allows universities to factor in some "indirect costs," such as utilities and maintenance, that can boost research spending totals slightly. The rankings are the most recent available.
The research spending totals include some UA Division of Agriculture expenditures, a statewide research arm of UA, but not UA Cooperative Extension spending.
Such agriculture-related research expenditures form the biggest category of spending, totaling $71,101,724 in the most recent fiscal year. The second-largest research unit based on expenditures was UA's engineering college, which spent $18,097,522.
Apart from where UA stands nationally, active research topics at UA that can help Arkansans include studying ways to fight cancer, improving energy infrastructure and developing nanomaterials, Rankin said, noting that research can also produce economic results.
"Sometimes the outcome of the research will be a patent, and you'll see a startup company, which might be bringing jobs. So you see benefits coming back to the state," Rankin said.
NW News on 08/22/2014