Milestone in sponsored research funding

Research funding from government agencies, private foundations, and other external sources this year is expected to top the $80-million mark for the first time in Boston College history, a milestone that faculty and administrators attribute to nearly two decades of strategic initiatives and investment.

So-called sponsored research is projected to total $83 million this year, according to the Office of the Provost. External funding garnered by BC faculty has risen steadily, from $57 million in 2020 to $73 million last year. The funding gains follow another benchmark: In 2016, BC was named an R1 research university, the highest ranking bestowed by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

“There has been an intentional plan on the part of the leadership of the University,” said Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas Chiles, who is also the DeLuca Professor of Biology. “First and foremost, we have invested in our faculty and they are the ones who make this happen.

“This is our mission. We strive to benefit the common good. You can see the research taking place at Boston College having an impact in real time in the world. You can see interventions developed by social scientists or education scholars. You can see our researchers in the natural sciences creating a greater understanding of our physical world. We are having an impact from every corner of the University. It is a very rewarding and exciting time to be here.”

Aligned with the priorities of the University’s strategic plan, investments have been made in office, classroom and lab space, equipment and technology, and support services for researchers, Chiles said—all of which have expanded research capacity, retained experienced scholars, and attracted stellar new faculty.

“We have invested in our faculty and I think the caliber of the faculty across the University is the highest it’s ever been,” said Chiles. “We are competing with the top universities to attract and retain outstanding scholars. You do that by developing a supportive infrastructure, capital funding, facilities, and competitive salaries.”

Faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers all contribute to the experience of BC undergraduates, Chiles said. “When you layer onto our research the hungry, young minds of our students, engage them in faculty research, see them grow, then move on to make their own impact, that is very exciting.”

BC has made an approximately $300-million investment in the sciences, which includes the construction of 245 Beacon Street, which opened in 2022—home to the new Human-Centered Engineering Department, rapidly growing Computer Science Department, and the new Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. In the liberal arts, BC opened Stokes Hall in 2013, now a focal point of humanities scholarship.

The Provost’s Office has also supported high-impact research through its IGNITE and RADS internal grants programs, designed to foster collaborative projects to advance ideas and projects that could one day compete for funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health, as well as private foundations.

Chiles cites the award of multiple MIRA grants from the NIH as an example of the increasingly high caliber of research being conducted at BC. University faculty currently hold 11 MIRA awards, seven of which were awarded to Chemistry faculty.

“The continued successes of our colleagues in winning competitive awards such as MIRA from the NIH speak of the strength of our faculty,” said Chemistry Department Chair Dunwei Wang, the Margaret A. and Thomas A. ’53 Vanderslice Professor of Chemistry. “This wouldn’t have been possible without strong research support from the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Provost’s Office, and the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences service centers. Successes like this are critical in placing BC as a leader in scientific research.”

Ferris Professor of Physics Michael Naughton, who was recently awarded a $750,000 grant from the Mathers Foundation to investigate a new radiation therapy with clinicians at Yale Medicine, said it has been exciting to watch BC’s research profile rise.

“As both an active researcher and a prior vice provost for research, I’m thrilled to see how the University’s research enterprise continues to grow,” said Naughton. “I see it as a further indication, and indeed a major driver, of BC’s increased stature as an internationally-recognized university. It shows that recent strategic investments in research-intensive areas, and in the excellent faculty that were and continue to be recruited, are paying off.”