Research funding reaches a milestone

For the first time, U.Va. researchers topped $300 million in grants and contracts during the 2004-05 fiscal year, a milestone in the University’s drive to upgrade its research enterprise. Arts & Sciences grants and contracts account for about $46 million of the total.

“The University has made substantial investments in research, and we have plans for the short- and long-term future that involve the retention of our best faculty, attracting outstanding internationally recognized scientists and the best students, coupled with the construction of the most modern research facilities available today and the upgrade of our existing ones,” said Dr. R. Ariel Gomez, vice president for research and graduate studies.

“Passing the $300 million mark, I hope, is a preamble for more and better things to come. In the end, we would like U.Va. to be one of the main places where major scientific discoveries occur and where most of the best and brightest students thrive.”

U.Va. only surpassed the $150 million level in 1996-97 and eclipsed $200 million just five years ago.

About 70 percent of the total comes from federal sources, with the balance from state and foundation support. The presence of the School of Medicine brings in big-ticket grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services, which account for more than $150 million of this year’s total.