Colorado State University Annual Research Expenditures Exceed $300 Million in 2010
Colorado State University’s annual research expenditures exceeded $300 million for the third consecutive year, ending Fiscal Year 2010 at $302.8 million, according to the Office of the Vice President for Research.
Overall research expenditures were within 3 percent of the record high FY 2009 total of $311.7 million and exceeded FY 2008 totals of $302.6 million. Nationally, Colorado State’s research expenditures have placed the university in the top 3 percent of all universities without a medical school (15 out of 554) and in the top 10 percent of all research universities (62 out of 679), according to the most recent research expenditures reported in 2008 by the National Science Foundation.
“As a result of their productivity in the laboratory, Colorado State University researchers are initiating record invention disclosures – the first step in the patenting process – in areas that directly address some of the world’s biggest environmental and human challenges,” said Bill Farland, vice president for Research. “While the economic downturn has generally affected state and foundation support and federal support nationwide, federal dollars continued to increase into the university, which is a testament to the quality of proposals submitted by our faculty.”
Colorado State University’s grant awards for FY 2010 grew 4.1 percent over FY 2009 to $285.6 million, up from $274.3 million the previous year. Federal awards increased for the second consecutive year, which is an indication that scientists at Colorado State are among some of the most productive compared with their peers nationwide.
Grants reflect $39 million received through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act for 71 proposals across all eight colleges.
Research expenditures reflect actual annual spending of funding from a variety of sources, including local, state and federal government. Grant awards are the dollars awarded in a year to researchers. Often, a research grant awarded in one year (grant award) will be expended over a number of years (research expenditure).
Other highlights about Colorado State University research:
• The average value of 2010 research proposals totaled $500,311, which was slightly higher than 2009 ($498,931). Faculty submitted 2,145 proposals for grants in FY 2010, down slightly from 2,182 proposals the previous year.
• Top federal sponsors are the U.S. Department of Agriculture ($53 million), Health and Human Services ($50.5 million) and the National Science Foundation ($31.9 million).
• Major awards included $6 million from Health and Human Services for an imaging suite in the Infection Disease Research complex, $4 million from NSF in ongoing funding of a multi-year grant for the Engineering Research Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology Center and $4.9 million from NSF for Culturally Relevant Ecology, Learning Progressions & Environmental Literacy.
• A contributing factor to the change in expenditures from 2009 to 2010 was a $10.7 million decline in Colorado State Forest Service expenditures related to wildfire response activity in 2010.
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