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      OU BREAKING RECORDS FOR RESEARCH GROWTH

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      js/9-10-08

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      CONTACT: OU Public Affairs, (405) 325-1543

      TULSA — The University of Oklahoma has set a new record high for external funding for research and sponsored programs, closing out fiscal year 2008 at more than $275 million, almost $25 million above last year’s record high.

      “Another record-breaking year in research growth underlines the role of OU as a principal engine for economic growth in our state,” said OU President David L. Boren. “This record research growth leads to the creation of higher paying jobs in our state and encourages our graduates to stay in Oklahoma. OU is truly one of the strongest engines for economic growth in our state, providing taxpayers with a very positive return on their investment.”

      Research expenditures have almost tripled at OU over the past 14 years, propelling OU into the top 100 in the nation among public universities and colleges in research and development expenditures. OU research grew at an average annual rate of 8.9 percent over the period, from $92.2 million in 1994 to $275.9 million this year.

      In FY08, Norman campus expenditures equaled $159 million, up from $147.5 million in 2007, an increase of 7.2 percent. That figure includes $80.6 million in expenditures for externally sponsored programs at the OU College of Continuing Education, an increase of 9.36 percent over FY07.

      The OU Health Sciences Center also continued its significant growth in research, achieving more than $115 million in research and sponsored program funding. Of the total, funding from the National Institutes of Health – considered to be the gold standard for research – was more than $50 million.

      “The growth in sponsored research programs expenditures is a tribute to our commitment to research excellence at OU. We are particularly focused in areas of research that stimulate economic development, such as our weather and health sciences programs,” said Lee Williams, vice president for research on the Norman campus.

      Successful university research programs include weather, genomics, chemistry, health sciences, nanosciences and applied social research. These areas continue to grow in concert with growth and development of the Research Campus in Norman, anchored by the National Weather Center and the Stephenson Research and Technology Center.

      In 2010, the 152,000-square-foot Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center, which will house 30 research groups in the life sciences working on projects that range from the development of alternative energy sources to new disease treatment therapies, will open on the Research Campus.

      Major strategic initiatives at the university that have experienced rapid growth in external funding for research and sponsored programs include the following: 

      • Strategic Initiative in Education Research and Outreach, which just received a $17 million grant from theU.S.Department of Education and which benefits more than 50,000 K-12 students in Oklahoma. This initiative connects the university with more than 500 schools and industry partners to foster high achievement, workforce development and economic growth.
         
      • Strategic Initiative in Applied Social Research, which currently has grants totaling more than $1.7 million. This initiative engages in health-related and organizational performance research and resulted in the hiring of six new faculty in Communications, Management Information Science, Anthropology and Political Science.

      • Strategic Initiative in Radar Meteorology and Engineering, which has doubled its external funding each year since its inception in 2003. This initiative recently resulted in a nearly $1 million sponsored research agreement with Enterprise Electronics Corp., which has the largest installed base of commercial weather radars in the world. EEC is establishing a software development and engineering research presence on the Research Campus in Norman.

      • Strategic Initiative in Integrative Life Sciences, which is recognized internationally for its work in genome sequencing, environmental genomics and proteomics. During the past two years alone, this program has generated more than $6 million in external funding.

      Other areas of increasing strength at the university include risk and crisis management, geographic information sciences, intelligent transportation and security systems, alternative energy, bioscience and bioengineering.