College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Poultry Industry Steps Up Biosecurity Efforts
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A Pearl of Wisdom for the Chesapeake
Getting to the Root of the Matter
Process Verification: A Boon for Beef-Cattle Producers
Microbiologist Works to Better China's Water Quality
Students Adopt Strawberry Mutants
Teaching Character and Learning from It, Too
Building Partnerships with Urban Boarding Schools
What Do Biodiesel and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Have in Common?
EQIPping Growers to Protect the Environment
Timely Notifications Ward Off Vegetable Foes
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Agricultural Research Spending Continues to Grow
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As Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industry continues to grow, so has Virginia Tech’s agricultural research spending. Funding for research and development in the agricultural sciences jumped nearly $15 million in 2007, according to the most recent figures from the National Science Foundation.
This raises Virginia Tech from tenth place to sixth place for agricultural research expenditures at universities and colleges in the country, just behind the University of Florida, University of California-Davis, Purdue University, University of Georgia, and Mississippi State. Virginia Tech moved past Michigan State University, Cornell University, Texas A & M University, and North Carolina State.
“This consistent increase in agricultural and natural resource research spending over the past four years is testimony to the excellence of our dedicated faculty, students, and staff who are clearly the drivers behind this success. Our faculty’s ability to secure extramural funding in spite of the highly competitive nature of federal and state grant funding and the hard budget times we are facing is remarkable,” said Sharron Quisenberry, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “This ranking shows that we are truly committed to providing state-of-the-art basic and applied research results to Virginians and the nation. Our efforts have helped Virginia’s agriculture industry grow and remain a significant contributor to Virginia’s economy.”
The National Science Foundation reported that Virginia Tech expended approximately $91.7 million in agricultural research and development in 2007, up from $76.7 million in 2006, an increase of more than 16 percent.
“Our faculty members are being recognized for their quality programs, which cross several disciplines across colleges and require the latest facilities and infrastructure for our researchers,” indicated J. Michael Kelly, dean of the College of Natural Resources. “We continuously strive to explore creative ways for supporting our faculty members and their efforts across different colleges and programs within the university, which has become even more critical in recent years.”
Virginia Tech’s agricultural and natural resources research and development program accounted for 25 percent of the research spending at the university in 2007. With more than $366.9 million in research expenditures, Virginia Tech has the largest research program among Virginia universities.