University of Memphis achieves record $50.2M in research awards 

Aug. 25, 2021 — The University of Memphis reached $50.23 million in research awards in the 2021 fiscal year, a new institution record and a 23.2% increase from the previous year.  

This continues a year-over-year upward climb in research awards as the UofM reached $40.76 million in FY 20, $32.59 million in FY 19 and $31.86 million in FY 18. With a new University record and consistent increases in awards, the UofM is in a strong position to achieve its goal of reaching Carnegie R1 status in the near future. 

“We must celebrate the hard work of our research faculty across campus,” said Jasbir Dhaliwal, UofM executive vice president for research and innovation. “Federal research awards are nationally competitive so these achievements are truly remarkable. Our efforts to build a cutting-edge research culture are starting to pay off and this bodes well for the future.”

Approximately 20% of the faculty were responsible for 75% of proposals three years ago when the University began its research revitalization strategy in search of Carnegie R1 status. Today, that number has risen to 38% of the faculty. 

The UofM has also seen an 80% increase in federal awards over the past three years and had 144 award-winning principal investigators and 20 departments securing $1 million or more in FY 21. 

Federal funds comprised 72% of the 2021 awards, followed by state governments (17%), private grants (6%) and local governments (5%). 

Visit memphis.edu/bot/meetings/ for meeting materials and to view the board meeting.