The University is attributing the recent drop in national research rankings to the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks and a struggling state economy.

SIUC dropped from 100th in 2004 to 105th this year in the National Science Foundation’s ranking for public research institutions. This list is the same for the “Southern at 150” goal to become a top 75 public research institution by its 150th birthday in 2019.

The University also saw a decrease in the total money awarded from the state.

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While the University lost ground in overall rank and state dollars, it did increase dramatically its federal dollars, which is more competitive and typically awards more money.

The drops can be drawn parallel to the University’s total research expenditures in the past few years, says John Koropchak, vice chancellor for Research and Development. All dollar amounts and rankings have a significant lag time, which he said explains why the University is only now seeing the repercussions. The most recently reported year is from the 2002 to 2003 calendar year.

From about 1998 to 2002, the University’s ranking and research dollars continually increased. Last year, the University broke into the top 100 universities for the first time since the mid-1990s. It also hit a record dollar amount for research at $54 million.

Yet, Koropchak said when the state and national economies began to go downhill after the terrorist attacks of 2001, his office knew it was going to be affected. The following year, the University endured a hefty budget cut from the state.

As the federal economy has begun to turn around, the Illinois economy and the money given to higher education has not.

He said this has drastically hurt the University’s research efforts because the University has historically relied heavily on state research dollars, which typically do not generate as much money as those on the federal level.

“What is it about SIU that things developed this way? I don’t know,” said Koropchak, who has served as vice chancellor since 1999. “This particularly affected us (the Office of Research Development and Administration) and the University as a whole because we traditionally have a greater reliance on state support for research. The campus is going through a sort of culture change, and it is not a culture change that is quite done.”

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Federal research dollars, Koropchak said, are much more competitive than state dollars. The increase from about $12,000 to $16,000 in one year bodes well for the University. A $100,000 federal award can give SIUC up to a $43,000 return; compared to the $10,000 the University would receive from a similar state grant.

In a 2003 report, a consulting group said the University would have to increase its research expenditures by 136 percent to reach the University’s “compelling vision” to become a top 75 research institutions by 2019. The Washington Advisory Group, a firm hired by the University, compiled the report to evaluate SIUC’s abilities to reach the goals in its long-range plan.

The report also warned that the University’s research efforts, including dollar amounts, cannot fall idle because other institutions will not slow down.

On Monday, Koropchak echoed that statement and said recent budget cuts have forced the University to do so.

“This is an indication that you can’t stand still. If you do that, other universities are going to keep moving,” Koropchak said. “We stood still because of reductions in state support. It wouldn’t surprise me if our ranking dropped a little bit again and we predicted that it could happen.”

Koropchak said he believes preliminary reports show promise for the future, even though it might still drop slightly next year.

The report said additional faculty will be critical to the University’s success, and Korpochak agrees.

“We can’t rest on our laurels,” he said. “We have to continue to work hard and out-compete other state institutions.”

Reporter Andrea Zimmermann can be reached at [email protected]