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Norfolk — Old Dominion is one of nine universities to join the ranks of the nation’s doctoral institutions with the highest research classification.
Last month, the Carnegie Classification grouped the university as a “Research 1″ doctoral university. Higher education institutions that receive this status are considered ones that are producing the highest level of research.
“Achieving this R1 status is a tribute to the researchers, the faculty (and) the staff that we have on this campus — that have put so much time and energy into their work that has been recognized now by the most prestigious organization that really acknowledges research in the country,” President Brian Hemphill said during a phone interview Thursday.
The recent additions announced will be finalized later this month, making ODU the fifth in the state to receive this distinction — joining George Mason University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech.
Morris Foster, who oversees the university’s externally funded projects as the vice president of research, compared the classification to a sports team moving to a Division 1 school. The ranking is also used by policymakers and to inform state and federal funding decisions, according to a news release from Indiana University, the institution that complied the list.
ODU has been a “Research 2″ university for the last two decades. The latest ranking from the classification framework shows that research conducted at ODU is as competitive as other R1 institutions, including Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University.
The framework measures the level of research coming from universities across the country and releases its rankings every three years. About 5%, or 137, of the nation’s four-year universities have received the classification.
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Several factors are considered: total research expenditures, aggregate level of research activity, number of research staff and research doctorates awarded, among others.
Last year’s ranking only focused on metrics from the 2019 and 2020. ODU spent $67.4 million in 2019 for projects developed by the university’s nonfaculty researchers, Foster said.
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The bulk of the money goes toward salaries and wages, travel expenses, supplies and other equipment. Most of the university’s research is done in Hampton Roads, Foster said, but funding also covers costs if the university needs to deploy researchers to the Arctic or Philippines for fieldwork.
The university had 100 nonfaculty Ph.D. researchers in 2019, triple its 2014 tally, and it awarded 150 research doctorates.
Federally funded projects from researchers such as Sachin Shetty are among the 450 active projects at ODU, Foster said. Shetty, a cybersecurity researcher, developed blockchain technology to protect confidential and national security information. He’s currently working to create a business using the technology he developed with Sentara Healthcare to protect patient information.
Receiving this recognition could help enhance the value of degrees from ODU and increase the number of undergraduate and graduate students, Hemphill said. Additionally, it will also put the university in a competitive position to secure larger federal grants and recruit top faculty members.
“We’re also focused on where ODU will go next as a R1. We can’t just be comfortable with receiving the R1 status,” Hemphill said.
Universities can also be classed back to a lower status if they don’t continue to meet the requirements. To keep its R1 status, Hemphill said ODU is working on its five-year strategic plan that will increase research and scholarship investments and strengthen its doctoral program. But beyond the first-year classification, the university plans to lean into some of its local strengths — maritime data and health science — with hopes to have international impact.
Sierra Jenkins, 229-462-8896, sierra.jenkins@virginiamedia.com