OU breaks record with $210.4 million in grants

Jul. 18—The University of Oklahoma topped its record for most research awards granted to OU faculty for fiscal year 2023.

The school received $210.4 million, a 33% increase from the previous fiscal year, and the money comes as a result of many different grants across all disciplines.

"Grants are really important for a couple of reasons," said Carol Silva, senior associate vice president for research and partnerships. "They are important for public universities to be ranked highly so they compete in the marketplace for good faculty and for good students."

OU has made gains in federal funding, which increased 50% from the previous year.

Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, vice president for Research and Partnerships at the University of Oklahoma, has fostered growth in hydrogen energy and is helping to develop fusion programs at OU.

"The tremendous growth in federally sponsored research indicates that our strategic research framework in support of the 'Lead On, University' Strategic Plan, along with our strategy to diversify OU's research portfolio, is being successful," Díaz de la Rubia. said. "Growth in research at the university means important work is being done to solve the greatest challenges facing our state, nation and the world, with increasing opportunities for our students to gain experience in research areas with high societal impact."

Silva said grant money has increased in alternative energy, the humanities and social sciences. These grants give the university more opportunities to hire research and teaching assistants.

"We give them good research opportunities and practical experience for both undergraduates and graduate students that make them more competitive in the job market."

"This milestone stands as a testament to the remarkable ability of our research community to translate their expertise into real-world impacts, fostering confidence and attracting transformational investments from our external partners," OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said.

Silva said it is important for OU to maintain respect as a flagship program for the state of Oklahoma.

"It's very important that OU is a leader in getting external research funding, which supports students," she said. "It supports faculty and professional research staff. It supports economic development in the state of Oklahoma, and it makes it possible for us to be competitive with the regional universities, and it helps us grow in status across all public universities in the U.S."

She said unlike in high schools and elementary schools, university professors create curriculum throughout all colleges, even teaching schools, which sets the bar for teaching.

"Learning is alive," she said. "It's a living thing and having our students in science and engineering laboratories working on the field, as well as for those in the social sciences and the humanities, is giving them the better education than they would get if they were doing it with faculty that were not at the front line of doing good research."

OU is touting one particular project that is worth $35 million. The Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster received $35 million as part of a Build Back Better Regional Challenge from the U.S. Economic Development Association.

"That's a big deal," said Silva. "We've had big growth in biotech."

Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.