Dean's Musings
Research Thrives in CLAS
While maintaining the quality of our educational programs is very important to our college, the growth of our research endeavors—especially in modern interdisciplinary areas, with a subsequent growth of graduate students—has been our major focus in recent years. Our success in building nationally recognized research activities will, in large measure, determine the advancement of the college in national rankings.
By all accounts, whether by individual investigation awards, new center initiatives or cross-college collaborations, CLAS researchers continue to be successful, boasting one of the largest percent increases in grant money of any cluster at UF. In fact, our college has seen a steady increase in the number of research dollars since 2000 and an even sharper increase in federal grants, jumping from $18.7 million in 1999–2000 to $39.3 million in 2004–2005.
Dean Neil Sullivan
While awards from federal agencies account for 90 percent of our college’s grant dollars, the humanities and social sciences have successfully sought major research funds in new areas and have been largely successfully in securing federal grants and support from major foundations and groups. These awards are highly competitive, and it is a testament to the growth of our research programs that we now have a number of prestigious awards from philanthropic foundations.
The hallmark of our recent research strengths has been the integration of research and education programs that introduce undergraduate students to research at an early stage in their careers and foster multi-disciplinary interactions that can not be created by any single, traditional department.
UF must take the lead in developing fundamental research studies if we are to continue to build the state’s economy. The research efforts in CLAS are key to establishing and maintaining long-lasting relationships with individuals and groups at the local, state, national and international levels.