VCU received record $310 million in sponsored research funding in 2019

Virginia Commonwealth University raised a record $310 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2019, the university announced Thursday.

The total of $310,216,377 represented a 14.6% increase from 2018, when VCU reached $217 million for sponsored research. Top VCU recipients of research funding, included VCU's Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, which received a $19.78 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health and the FDA Center for Tobacco Products to launch a five-year study predicting outcomes of government regulations of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. The VCU School of Education's teacher residency program, which received a $4.97 million U.S. Department of Education grant to expand the program and increase STEM training to teachers in elementary schools and special education programs.

“Our robust growth in sponsored research speaks to the immense talent and dedication of the faculty, staff and students who comprise VCU,” said VCU President Michael Rao. “Their curiosity, creativity and innovative qualities benefit so many people, even those who will never come to our university.”

Nationally, VCU ranks No. 54 for federally funded research among public universities and No. 67 for all research funding by public universities, according to the National Science Foundation.