University of South Carolina faculty have again broken their previous record-high external funding by garnering $278.6 million in research and sponsored awards in fiscal year 2019 (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019). FY2019 was the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking funding totals, beating the previous record of $258.1 million, set in fiscal year 2018, by 8 percent.
UofSC Vice President for Research Prakash Nagarkatti said, “Sustained growth of this magnitude does not happen by accident. By making strategic investments in our exceptional scholars and our infrastructure, the University of South Carolina is building a research community characterized by innovation and excellence that has made and will continue to make an enormous positive impact on our state, nation and world. I am so honored to work with such outstanding faculty, students and staff, who continue to raise the bar year after year.”
Vice President Nagarkatti credits strategic internal investments in research and infrastructure with helping to generate the growth that has increased research and sponsored awards totals for each of the past five years. The Advanced Support for Innovative Research Excellence, or ASPIRE program, provides an example of how internal programs that fund meritorious research and multi-user infrastructure generate strong returns on investment. Since its inception in 2012, ASPIRE has provided $16.1 million to fund 597 faculty and postdoctoral scholar research projects in subject areas from art to mathematics and from medicine to library science. Past ASPIRE recipients have garnered more than $171.2 million in subsequent extramural funding, including $71.8 million in funding that was directly attributable to groundwork laid with an ASPIRE award. This represents more than a four-fold direct return on investment.