SDSU Awarded Record $124 Million for Research, Programs
Funding Increase Benefits San Diego by Strengthening Academic, Community Missions
CONTACT: Liese Klein, (619) 594-4298
Marketing & Communications
Theresa Nakata, (619) 594-8762
SDSU Foundation
SAN DIEGO, Monday, August 20, 2001 - San Diego State University faculty members received $124 million in grants and contracts during the 2000-2001 fiscal year, an 18 percent increase over the 1999-2000 total and a record for the university. This year's jump in funding caps a 45 percent increase in dollars awarded to SDSU faculty for research and administering programs during the past five years.
SDSU officials attribute the funding increase to several factors, including the hiring of more research-oriented faculty members and a growing reputation as a premier research institution. SDSU hired more than 70 new faculty members last year alone, and grant proposal submissions increased 40 percent during the last five years.
"Research is a key part of San Diego State University's mission," said SDSU President Stephen L. Weber. "The San Diego region presents dynamic possibilities for innovation in many areas, and SDSU teacher-scholars constantly are developing technologies and solutions for social issues."
SDSU Provost Nancy Marlin said the impact of more research funding is felt throughout the university."Thanks to the great work of our faculty and the support of SDSU Foundation, SDSU continues to experience success in securing faculty-sponsored research," Marlin said. "As a result, we have been quite successful in hiring outstanding new faculty because they know they'll have the opportunity to collaborate with others who are undertaking exciting research. This, in turn, assists us in attracting high-quality students."
SDSU currently has approximately 1,500 grant programs and research projects under way. Grants awarded to the university this year support projects designed to improve literacy and math and science education in local schools. Other grants fund efforts to help find new antibiotics and curb aggressive driving.
The largest overall awards include:
* Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT), $2,531,527 from the U.S. Department of Defense. The Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology is an academia-industry-government collaborative project with San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego, Orincon Industries, and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego. The center was established to "fast-track" the development of commercial and alternative applications of government-sponsored technologies and to support the application of technological advances from academia and the private sector to government-defined priority issues.
* San Diego CHOICE Program, $2.5 million: $500,000 from San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, $2 million from San Diego County Probation Department. The CHOICE program attempts to get troubled youth out of the overloaded, understaffed juvenile justice system. The program sets up three-person caseworker teams that interact face-to-face several times daily with referred youths and their families. The teams provide guidance, mentoring and supervision 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to ensure that youth comply with court orders, attend school, stay free of drugs and lead safe lives.
* Title IV-E Masters of Social Work Program, $1,428,117 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (through a subcontract with the University of California at Berkeley). This program aims to increase the number of social workers in the inner cities through scholarships for social workers in training.
Significant research-based grants and awards include:
* Denise Wilfley, professor of psychology and director of SDSU's Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, received more than $600,000 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to investigate the efficacy of two interventions designed to improve the long-term maintenance of weight loss in overweight children with at least one obese parent. Over a five-year period, 216 obese girls and boys, ages 7 to 11 years, who have at least one obese parent, will participate in this clinical trial. The study includes participants from African-American, Hispanic, American Indian and Pacific Islander families.
* Christopher Glembotski, professor of biology and director of the SDSU Heart Institute, received $332,000 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and $243,000 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for research on the heart. His projects study the role of "kinases" - a kind of enzyme - in cardiovascular function and health. The Heart Institute promotes research and teaching relating to heart and cardiovascular system performance in health and disease.
* Walter Oechel, professor of biology and director of the College of Sciences' Global Change Research Group, received more than $400,000 from the National Science Foundation for his studies on the effects of global warming. Specifically, the studies examine elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on native ecosystems of the Arctic and Mediterranean-type climate regions. Studies conducted by the Global Change Research Group reflect the increasing awareness among scientists that global change has to be understood and verified on the regional level and that policy and management decisions also must occur at the regional level.
The Carnegie Foundation classifies SDSU as a Doctoral/Research Intensive university, which places SDSU among the top 6.9 percent of 3,800 higher education institutions nationwide engaged in research. Frea Sladek, general manager for San Diego State University Foundation (a nonprofit auxiliary of the university that helps faculty members research, apply for and administer grants and awards), said the university's reputation has reached the point where many agencies and foundations actively seek out SDSU faculty members for research and community projects. More than 300 different sponsors awarded grants or contracts to SDSU.
"Government agencies, private companies and non-profit groups, ranging from NASA to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, know we have the talent, the resources and the experience to conduct quality research and establish high-impact programs," Sladek said.
San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor's degrees in 78 areas, master's degrees in 61 areas and doctorates in 13 areas. Students participate in academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with professors and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.
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