Research fundings for UMN
Public universities nationwide are facing budget difficulties due to dwindling financial supports from state governments. One major strategy for them -- other than tuition hike -- is to beef up external research fundings, which not only raise the all-important prestige of academic reputation but also bring additional "overhead" money to support the operation.
In the latest annual report issued by the National Science Foundation, UMN had $595 million in research expenditures in 2006—up from $549 million in 2005, an increase that move the U from 10th 9th among public universities in those expenditures.
The NSF counts research support from five source categories: business and industry (B&I), institutional funds, state and local support, federal support, and "all other sources." The University is "going across the board" to beef up all of them ("Research on the rise"), with B&I in top priority.