UVM Tops $260 Million in Research Support

RESEARCH | The University of Vermont set a fourth consecutive yearly record for total external support for its rapidly growing research enterprise. Funding by federal and state agencies, corporate partners, foundations, and individual donors reached nearly $263 million in the fiscal year ending June 20, 2023—only the second time the figure has soared above a quarter-billion dollars. Two years ago, UVM was ranked for the first time among the nation’s 100 largest public research universities by total research support according to the National Science Foundation.

Since 2019, the university has expanded investment in initiatives to enhance its research footprint across all parts of the institution. This focus has paid off in terms of absolute growth and in diversifying the research portfolio to encompass more areas where UVM has unique and powerful strengths, particularly in advancing healthy societies and a healthy environment.

“Our faculty’s scholarly work addresses some of the most urgent challenges of our time,” UVM President Suresh Garimella said. “UVM’s longtime leadership role in environment and climate, combined with our outstanding health sciences programs, positions us among a handful of institutions who can tackle just about anything related to human and societal health.”

“Five years ago, there was certainly influential research conducted at UVM, but it was isolated to a handful of high-performing areas,” said Kirk Dombrowski, vice president for research. “What the faculty and staff have accomplished in a very short time has led to a broad set of interdisciplinary research centers and research support systems, realizing the true potential of a comprehensive university.”

External support for UVM research has doubled since 2018. The Larner College of Medicine—the long-time top performer in attracting funding for UVM research—until recently accounted for the vast majority of UVM’s research. In 2023, while still growing its research, Larner College of Medicine accounts for 35 percent of the total. That means all the other colleges and schools have grown fast, including the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, up 58 percent in research funding since last year.

The growth in campus-wide research activity has also been greatly facilitated by new shared resources for researchers, no matter where they are based within UVM. For example, the new Firestone Medical Research Building includes shared core research facilities and support for biomedical sciences used by teams of collaborating researchers from diverse disciplines—including from outside UVM.

UVM plays a special role in the region as a hub for government, corporate, and other researchers. UVM houses state and federal research expertise and facilities such as the Vermont State Climate Office (VSCO) and the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program for the northeast U.S. region.

UVM’s fulfillment of its mission as Vermont’s flagship land grand university includes prioritizing the availability of research findings to the citizens, businesses, organizations, and government entities in the state.

“Our relative size and the breadth of our research allow us to be the region’s convenor on critical topics that call for discovery, innovation, and creativity,” said Dombrowski. “We expect to do more in the coming years to bring people together around tough challenges.”