Virginia Tech Pleased By R&D Figures: The University Dropped in the National Rankings but Exceeded the Industrywide Growth Rate.
By Greg Esposito, The Roanoke Times, Va.
Feb. 1–Virginia Tech fell one spot in the latest national rankings of research universities but new figures indicate the school will see gains next year.
Tech dropped to No. 56 in the rankings of research and development spending released Tuesday by the National Science Foundation. It spent about $290 million on research and development in 2005, a gain of more than $20 million — or 7.9 percent — from the previous year. That put it ahead of the industrywide growth rate of 5.8 percent.
But Brad Fenwick, vice president for research at Virginia Tech, said that’s not the only reason he’s optimistic. Tech released its fiscal year 2006 numbers Wednesday. They show research and development spending growing to $321.7 million, for a growth rate of nearly 11 percent.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with our performance over the last two years,” Fenwick said. “Now our challenge is just to sustain it.”
The rankings are based on the most recent comparative data available so are behind the most recent data from individual universities. They are based on R&D funding from state and federal agencies, private foundations and industry as well as the institutions themselves. The rankings were released to The Roanoke Times on Wednesday but won’t be available on the NSF Web site, www.nsf.gov, for a couple of months.
They are closely watched by research universities vying for the billions of dollars in research grants and contracts. In 2000, Tech President Charles Steger announced a goal for the university to move from No. 50 in the rankings to the top 30 by 2010. Over the past year Tech has emphasized a dollar figure –$540 million by 2012 — rather than a ranking, as its goal.
“We couldn’t define what that number was,” Fenwick said. “If you’re doing top 30, that number could change.”
But if Tech continues to see double-digit growth in research spending, it’ll be close to both goals, he said. Research spending at Tech grew at a rate of about 9.7 percent from 2000 to 2005 and dropped in the rankings as the industrywide growth rate was 10.4 percent.
“It looks as though our plan is working out,” Fenwick said. “Other institutions are still growing, but we’re growing faster. … We really kicked tail this year.”
The University of Virginia dropped two spots in the rankings, to No. 69, and had a growth rate of about 4.6 percent.
Fenwick said UVa and Tech fell in the rankings partly because of gamesmanship. Case Western Reserve University passed both of the schools this year when it included research at the Cleveland Clinic in figures submitted to the NSF, Fenwick said. Case Western’s medical school has a partnership with the world-renowned hospital.
Of course, Tech will benefit in the rankings in a few years when it partners with Carilion Health Systems on a new medical school in Roanoke. It’s expected to open by 2010, and Fenwick said it should bring in tens of millions of research dollars once it gets going.
Much of that will be in federally sponsored research, a category in which Tech rebounded in 2005 after falling 11 spots last year. Tech moved back up to No. 83 thanks to a nearly 15 percent increase in that category in 2005.
Tech will be hard-pressed to keep the momentum going because of the national climate for research and development. A huge federal budget deficit could mean lean times, Fenwick said. But buoyed by the new figures, he sees the shift as an opportunity as organizations become more choosy about how they spend R&D money.
“This is where universities that can really create value shine,” he said. “When times get tough you can really distinguish yourselves.”
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Roanoke Times, Va.
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