ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø

ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Attracts Half Billion in Grants and Contracts

Increase Brings Five-Year Total to More than $2 Billion

The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s 13 institutions attracted $500 million in grants and contracts in Fiscal Year 1999, an increase of 6.8 percent over the previous year. A report on the amount was presented during the September 10 meeting of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Board of Regents’ Committee on Advancement.

“I am pleased to report that the investment by the citizens of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø in its University System continues to return large dividends,” said ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Chancellor Donald N. Langenberg. “This sizeable increase, to the half billion dollar mark, is a direct consequence of the outstanding faculty we have been able to attract, the infrastructure improvements we have been able to afford, and the competitive, entrepreneurial spirit that can be found on each of our campuses.”

Each of the 13 ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institutions - 11 degree-granting, and two devoted to research - attracted grants and contracts from federal, state, and private sources. While there are fluctuations from year to year, the System has shown a steady overall increase during the past decade of seven to 10 percent annually. The Fiscal Year 1990 total of $210 million has now grown to $499 million in Fiscal Year 1999, an overall annual increase of 150 percent. ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institutions have attracted more than $2 billion in grants and contracts during the past five fiscal years.

Yonathan Zohar, director and professor at the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Biotechnology Institute’s Center of Marine Biotechnology, said, "The University System's help and commitment have been critical to our success in obtaining over $5 million from several federal agencies for basic and applied research on the Pfiesteria problem in ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø's waters. We appreciate their support and expertise."

Highlights of the Fiscal Year 1999 report include:

• Federal funding agencies supplied nearly two-thirds of the grants and contracts (64 percent), followed by state and local governments (19 percent), and private sources (17 percent).

• Towson University had a modest one-year increase in Fiscal Year ’99; over the past five years it has grown from $2.3 million to $10.7 million, an increase of 364 percent.

• The University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, College Park has increased its grants and contracts by 30 percent in the past two years, but showed a one-year drop of one percent from Fiscal Year 1998 to ’99.
  
• The University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Center for Environmental Sciences had a one-year increase of 54.5 percent, to $17.1 million.
  
• Coppin State College had a one-year increase of more than $1 million, for a 129 percent jump over the prior year’s total. This is accounted for by a large grant from the Department of Education.
  
• The University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Biotechnology Institute increased grants and contracts by over $3 million, or nearly 20 percent.
  
• The University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore boosted their funding by 13.5 percent for a total of $165 million.
  
• The University of Baltimore had a one-year increase of 34 percent to a total of $5.8 million.
  
• The University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore County boosted their grants and contracts total to $51.2 million, a one-year increase of 7.5 percent.
  
• The University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Eastern Shore boosted their total by nearly nine percent to a total of $10.9 million.
  
• The leading federal sources of funding for grants and contracts were HHS-NIH ($118 million), NASA ($51 million), Defense ($36 million), and NSF ($35 million).
  
• Federal agencies showing large percentage increases in Fiscal Year 1999 included the Agency for International Development (158 percent), Navy (25 percent), EPA (50 percent) and NASA (25 percent).
  
• Grants and contracts with the State of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø accounted for $86 million of the total, an increase of 23 percent.
  

  Contact:

  Chris Hart
  Phone: 301/445-2739
  Pager: 301/507-2316
  E-mail: chart@usmh.usmd.edu