The University of Hawaii System saw more than $485.5 million in extramural funding in fiscal year 2021 which ended June 30 — just short of UH's record of $488.6 million in 2011 — officials with the state school system recently announced.
Extramural funding this year represents a $35.1 million or 7.8% increase over FY2020 and includes grants and awards from a host of organizations including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, among others. UH Manoa, the flagship campus of UH’s 10-campus system, received the most awards this year bringing in $352.6 million, followed by the UH System with $85.6 million, UH Community Colleges with $28.35 million, and UH Hilo with $15.97 million.
Extramural funding includes external investments from governmental agencies, industry and nonprofit organizations that support research and training activities conducted by university faculty and staff.
“Despite having almost every aspect of our personal and work lives disrupted by the virus, our dedicated and hard-working faculty, staff and graduate students have remained focused and resilient to the task at hand,” said UH Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis Syrmos in a statement. “Their tireless efforts have kept the University of Hawaii research enterprise moving full speed ahead and on the right trajectory—positively contributing to the well-being of our institution, state, nation and beyond.”
Some of the extramural awards in FY2021 includes $13.37 million to the Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges for a three-year workforce development project to help train 3,560 workers for jobs in the healthcare, skilled trades and technology sectors; $6.6 million to the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence IV-Hawai‘i Statewide Research and Education Partnership; $4.5 million to the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, or SOEST, to extend its Hawaii Ocean Time-series; and $3.8 million to the UH Cancer Center to continue its Multiethnic Cohort Study, among others.
“Once again, I would like to congratulate the UH Manoa research ohana for their outstanding and innovative contributions that have led to this year’s near-record extramural funding tally for UH in less-than-ideal circumstances,” said UH Manoa Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Velma Kameoka in a statement. “As our top-notch faculty continue to inspire our students with their research and creativity, I would also like to recognize the unsung efforts of our hard-working postdocs, student research assistants and staff for their dedication to help keep the UH research enterprise strong and resilient.”
