Federal, private and other research funding to the University of Washington for 1992-93 reached the $430 million mark for the first time in the University’s history, the UW announced Sept.16.
In related news, a recent government report ranked the UW second on the list of all U.S. colleges and universities that receive federal research dollars. For the federal fiscal year ending in September, 1992, the UW received $245.2 million. In the number-one spot was Johns Hopkins University with $490.9 million.
The UW remains the nation’s top public-university recipient of federal funds, a spot it has held since 1974. In moving up to number two overall, the UW traded places with Stanford University. The rankings are the most recent data compiled by the National Science Foundation.
Following Johns Hopkins, the UW and Stanford, other top-10 schools were MIT, UCLA, Michigan, UC-San Diego, Wisconsin, UC-San Francisco and the University of Pennsylvania.
Federal research dollars are awarded in a competitive process by a jury of experts in each academic field. Because of this impartial review, federal research rankings are a commonly accepted means of measuring the quality of a university’s faculty.
For 1992-93, the nearly half-billion dollars in outside funding earmarked for research and training makes the UW “an important economic engine for Washington and the Pacific Northwest,” says Alvin Kwiram, UW vice provost for research.
Kwiram says the state provides the “basic education infrastructure that makes it possible to have the facilities and faculty to make us competitive for federal and industry grants.” He notes that for every dollar the state puts into the University, $3 more is drawn into the University budget from other sources because of the quality of the faculty and its ability to compete for grants.
Kwiram said that the UW’s research standing attracts the best and brightest graduate students in the nation, which has a direct effect on quality of undergraduate education.