SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) released its annual research numbers today, reporting a 16.8 percent increase to $56,833,860 in total research spending for the Sept. 1, 2010 - Aug. 31, 2011 fiscal year (FY 11) over the previous fiscal year, when research spending totaled $48,651,962. The statistic is up 75.8 percent from just five years ago, when UTSA’s total research expenditures were $32,320,710.
In addition, UTSA reported $79,468,118 in total research and non-research spending for FY 11, a sum known as “total sponsored programs expenditures.” The figure represents a 13.3 percent increase over the last fiscal year and a 64.9 percent increase over the last five fiscal years when the numbers were $70,150,966 and $48,196,039, respectively. See five-year statistics here.
The UTSA College of Sciences, College of Engineering and College of Education and Human Development were responsible for the bulk of UTSA’s FY 11 research expenditures, spending $30,310,118, $10,223,811 and $4,699,079, respectively.
“Last year, we expanded our research programs at UTSA by recruiting top faculty and by focusing on our five areas of research strength: health, cyber security, energy, sustainability and human development,” said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. “When our students have access to scholars who are at the top of their fields, they have the power to transform their lives so they can make a positive and significant impact on our state, our nation and our world.”
UTSA experienced many research milestones during FY 11. In Sept. 2010, the National Institutes for Health renewed UTSA’s Research Centers in Minority Institutions grant for $12.7 million to continue the program for five additional years. A month later, UTSA received AAALAC International accreditation, elevating its animal research program to the likes of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the American Red Cross. In early 2011, UTSA received $4.6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to establish a Center of Excellence in Infection Genomics. And, this summer, UTSA opened its Advanced Visualization Laboratory, a technology-laden facility that helps researchers understand complex phenomena through large-scale imaging.
Notably, during FY 11, UTSA’s four internal grant programs proved to be a great investment. For every dollar UTSA invested through the internal programs, researchers won $11 of new funding from external agencies.
UTSA also spent $6,229,173 in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), better known as federal stimulus funding. Nearly half of that funding supported UTSA research through the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute, a joint initiative of UTSA and the UT Health Science Center San Antonio to study health-related topics.
“Despite the challenging economic climate, which made the funding process even more competitive than we have seen in the past, we received funding for approximately 20 percent or one out of every five research proposals we submitted,” said Robert Gracy, UTSA vice president for research. “Those are really good odds. We are extremely proud of our team for that accomplishment.”
To learn more about UTSA research, visit http://research.utsa.edu.
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Texas and one of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. For more information, visit www.utsa.edu/today.
Contacts
UTSA
Christi Fish, 210-458-5141
cell 210-410-8874
christi.fish@utsa.edu
