In an era of greater competition for dwindling federal research dollars, UC Davis showed an "impressive" 5 percent increase last fiscal year as researchers brought in $169.1 million in extramural support. "The trend in federal funding is impressive considering the events in Washington, D.C., over the last five years," reports Robert Shelton, vice chancellor for research. Although Shelton believes UC Davis researchers have their work cut out for them in continuing to secure extramural funding, he said UC Davis has a number of advantages. "First, I believe that the premier universities will continue to out-compete the average ones," Shelton said. "Second, the breadth of programs at UC Davis places us in a strong position to compete for the ever-increasing fraction of funding that is going to multidisciplinary work."Finally, due to the nature of the Davis academic "mix," Shelton said the campus will continue to seek significant funding at the state agencies."The upturn in the state economy should play to our favor in future years," he said. The nearly $7 million drop in state funding for the 1994-95 year, however, gives him pause, Shelton said. "I think it is important to examine trends over at least a three-year and preferably a five-year span," he said. "That said, the drop in state funding is of concern."The drop is particularly noticeable because 1993-94 was a banner year at UC Davis for state funding when $22.1 million was received. According to research office analysts, the previous year's surge could have been due to several big awards or 1994-95 monies received early. Another reason for the discrepancy may be that UC Davis is experiencing the lag between the state's economic recovery and the placement of state funds for university research. Shelton congratulated the UC Davis faculty and research community for the achievement. "I know from my personal experience (grants from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy) that success in peer-reviewed grants requires tremendous time, energy and creativity."Following are highlights from the Annual 1994-95 Extramural Funding Report from the Office for the Vice Chancellor for Research.* In the last five years, the total extramural support for research has increased by $42.5 million or 33 percent.* Of the 2,382 awards received by UC Davis faculty, 783 of those were for new projects.* Funds awarded from federal and state agencies represent the largest number of awards and the largest dollar amount. This source represents approximately 71 percent of total extramural funding. There was a 7.8 percent increase in federal funding last year.* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides the most funding to the campus of any of the federal agencies. Those total awards increased slightly over last year from $53.3 million to $54.4 million. Awards from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior doubled from last year and awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities decreased significantly.* Funding from state sources decreased by $6.9 million, which was partially offset by a $6.3 million increase in funds from private sources.* The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the School of Medicine continue to be the largest college and school receiving award dollars.*In A&ES, 13 centers or departments received more than $1 million in funding. The departments of Entomology and Land, Air and Water Resources each brought in more than $4 million in research funding.* The School of Medicine continues to receive the bulk of its awards in the $100,000 to $499,000 range. This year it received 103 awards in that range. The Department of Internal Medicine was awarded $10.2 million, which represents 26 percent of the total received by the school. * Funding for the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program for last year was recorded in this year, which explains the sharp increase in funding in the area of campuswide programs. Total Extramural Awards to UC Davis by Source Change from 1994-95 1993-94 =========================================================================== U.S. Department of Agriculture $10,522,971 +$1,047,138 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Defense $8,850,911 +$4,737,409 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Health and Human Services $54,494,150 +$1,124,133 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Energy $15,447,562 +$438,511 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental Protection Agency $2,249,770 -$1,276,540 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Aeronautics and Space Administration $2,021,901 +$480,253 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Endowment for the Humanities $120,000 -$316,323 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Science Foundation $16,793,437 -$672,045 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Department of the Interior $3,037,254 +$1,389,632 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Agency for International Development $3,489,899 +$3,222,493 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other $2,924,183 -$735,274 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Federal $119,952,038 +$9,439,387 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- State $15,196,013 -$6,936,377 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Private $33,999,099 +$6,315,616 =========================================================================== Total $169,147,150 +$8,818,626 Source: Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research