West Virginia University Research Corporation

TO FOSTER AND SUPPORT RESEARCH AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY.

SEE SCHEDULE OIN 1985, THE WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION (RESEARCH CORPORATION) WAS CREATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH WEST VIRGINIA STATE LAW AND WITH THE EXPRESSED PURPOSE TO FOSTER AND SUPPORT RESEARCH AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY (UNIVERSITY). THE RESEARCH CORPORATION IS ORGANIZED EXCLUSIVELY FOR CHARITABLE, EDUCATIONAL, AND SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES, INCLUDING FOR SUCH PURPOSES: (1) TO FOSTER AND SUPPORT RESEARCH AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY; AND(2) TO PROVIDE EVALUATION, DEVELOPMENT, PATENTING, MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING SERVICES FOR INVENTIONS BY THE FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS OF WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY.RESEARCH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE UNIVERSITY'S MISSION AND THE RESEARCH CORPORATION FACILITATES THIS MISSION THROUGH IT'S ROLE AS A FISCAL AGENT FOR SPONSORED PROJECTS. THE RESEARCH CORPORATION ALSO USES IT'S UNIQUE STATUS TO MAXIMIZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN ADDITION TO IT'S ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUNCTIONS. ONE IMPORTANT INDICATION OF THIS SUCCESS IS THE UNIVERSITY'S RENEWAL AS AN R1 DOCTORAL UNIVERSITY - HIGHEST RESEARCH ACTIVITY BY THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION IN FISCAL YEAR 2018 PLACING WVU AMONG THE 130 STRONGEST RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS IN THE U.S. BY OUR CALCULATION, THE UNIVERSITY MOVED FROM 109TH TO 90TH IN THE CLASSIFICATION. IN FY21, THE UNIVERSITY SECURED MORE THAN $200M IN SPONSORED PROGRAM FUNDING, A NEW HIGH FOR THE INSTITUTION. AT THE SAME TIME, SPONSORED AWARD EXPENDITURES CAME IN AT $189M.FEDERAL FUNDING FOR SPONSORED PROGRAMS AT THE UNIVERSITY INCREASED IN FY21 TO $109M, WHEREAS OVERALL SPONSORED AWARDS (FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL SOURCES) REACHED A NEW HIGH OF $200M AS NOTED ABOVE. INVESTMENTS IN IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE FACULTY THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS BY THE RESEARCH OFFICE CONTINUES TO YIELD A NOTICEABLE RETURN IN TERMS OF THE DOLLAR VALUE OF NEW AWARDS. THE MOST EFFECTIVE OF THESE INVESTMENTS REMAINS THE PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH, PROVIDING SUPPORT TO ENSURE THAT RESUBMITTED PROPOSALS HAVE A SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS; AND AN INTERNAL NIH STYLE STUDY SECTION AT HSC, PROVIDING SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS PRIOR TO EXTERNAL SUBMISSION TO INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS.THE UNIVERSITY CONTINUES TO SEE GROWTH IN THE FUNDING IT RECEIVES FROM THE NIH, WITH A NEW RECORD OF $38.7M IN AWARDS FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2021.AS MENTIONED LAST YEAR, A LARGE GRANT FROM THE USDA NIFA FOR RESEARCH ON BIOMASS AND BIOMASS DERIVED PRODUCTS IN THE APPALACHIAN REGION LED TO AN INCREASE IN USDA FUNDING TO A RECORD OF $14.7M IN 2021. THIS REFLECTS EFFORTS IN LEADING A COLLABORATION FOCUSED ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND IS AN OUTGROWTH OF THE UNIVERSITY'S HISTORICAL STRENGTH IN ENERGY RESEARCH IN GENERAL AND REFLECTS THE SHIFT TO RENEWABLE RESOURCES FROM FOSSIL RESOURCES FOR U.S. ENERGY PRODUCTION.THE UNIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE RESEARCH CORPORATION AND THE WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY INNOVATION CORPORATION CONTINUES TO EXPAND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FUNDING AT WVU. DOD AWARDS INCREASED FROM $3.4M TO $3.8M IN THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR.WHILE THE UNIVERSITY CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON IMPROVING IT'S RELATIONSHIP WITH PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERS, FOCUSING ON PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRIES IN HEALTH CARE, ENERGY, AND DEFENSE, WITH THE GOAL TO GROW INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH SUPPORT THROUGH IT'S OFFICE OF CORPORATE RELATIONS, IMPACTS FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC LED TO A DECREASE IN FUNDING FOR RESEARCH IN THIS AREA FROM $43M IN FISCAL YEAR 2020 TO $39.7M IN FISCAL YEAR 2021. WHILE THE UNIVERSITY AND THE RESEARCH CORPORATION FINDS ITSELF IN A VERY DYNAMIC FUNDING ENVIRONMENT, BOTH ARE DEPLOYING INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES TO EXPAND THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF FUNDING FOR THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE FROM ALL SOURCES AND LOOKS FORWARD TO CONTINUED SUCCESS IN THE FUTURE.