VCU sets sponsored research funding record

Virginia Commonwealth University set a record for its sponsored research funding — $464.6 million — in fiscal 2023, the Richmond public research university announced Friday.

The total is a 14% increase since last year and a 71% increase over five years ago.

“I’m proud that research is one of the fastest areas of growth and impact at VCU,” VCU President Michael Rao said in a statement. “Thanks to our faculty and supportive leaders, we continue to set … records for our sponsored research funding and have risen in the national rankings as a top public research university.”

The university will make the breakdown of the combined awards for sponsored programs, including grants, contracts and other funding types, available “in the coming weeks,” according to a news release. Rao presented a preview of the numbers to VCU’s board of visitors on Friday. Federal research funding, particularly from the National Institutes of Health, has “grown exponentially” since last year, according to VCU.

VCU’s research is driven by the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan, which was launched in fiscal 2022 and outlines four research priorities: enriching the human experience; optimizing health; achieving a just and equitable society; and supporting sustainable energy and environments. VCU ranked 50th on the National Science Foundation’s nationwide list of public universities by federally funded research expenditures, released in December 2022.

“This increased funding and impactful research spans the arts, humanities, social sciences as well as the STEM and health fields and will further allow our dedicated and talented faculty, fellows, staff and students to take creative inventions, ideas and innovations into the public domain,” P. Srirama Rao, VCU’s vice president for research and innovation, said in a statement.

Three Virginia universities, including VCU, made the National Academy of Inventors’ list ranking U.S. universities by patents granted in 2022. VCU ranked 86th on the list, which was released earlier this week. The University of Virginia was No. 43, and George Mason University ranked 91st.

The university’s fall enrollment totaled 28,408 students, according to State Council of Higher Education for Virginia data, of which 21,207 were undergraduates.