Collegiate Times

University officials are happy with the direction of Virginia Tech’s research program despite a minor drop of the university’s ranking in a National Science Foundation study on research expenditures.

The rankings drop puts Tech in 46th out of 679 universities for the 2008 rankings, four spots behind its 2007 ranking of 42nd. The 2008 rankings were determined by the amount of expenditures on research for the approximate time period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.

“Despite the fact we didn’t have a higher rank, we still maintained our spot in the top 50,” said Roderick Hall, associate vice president for the office of research. “There’s a really tight range of schools in the same area that we are.”

Tech came in 54th place for the foundation’s 2006 fiscal year rankings and 56th place in the 2005 fiscal year rankings.

Despite the drop in rankings, Tech increased expenditures by $6.4 million from the 2007- 2008 report for a total of $373.3 million. Hall credited federal stimulus funds for maintaining funding levels despite large cuts from the state.

“There’s a lot of money coming in through the federal stimulus,” Hall said. “We’ve been getting a significant number of awards from that stimulus money.”

However, Hall was less enthusiastic about Tech’s research funding when federal stimulus funds diminish.

“We’re definitely concerned that we’ll see a down trend if the state budget stays in the same level of turmoil it’s currently in,” Hall said.

Since the rankings lag a year behind reported expenditures, ranking information for the 2009 fiscal year will not be released until the fall of 2010. Hall remained optimistic about Tech’s place for future rankings.

“We anticipate we will continue to be in that 40-50 range when the rankings come out,” Hall said.

Hall stressed the importance of controlled growth.

“The most important thing is we continue to grow at a healthy rate,” Hall said.