Research, enrollment post new high marks

The University set records this winter as it tallied its research expenditures and welcomed students back for spring semester.

ENROLLMENT: Spring enrollment rose for the eighth consecutive year at KU's Lawrence campus and for the fourth straight year at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.

Total KU spring enrollment rose to a record 27,890, surpassing last spring's mark of 27,772. Before 2004, the previous record was set in 1993 at 27,569.

For the Lawrence campus, spring enrollment rose to 25,379, breaking the record of 25,348, set during spring 2004. The Medical Center, which is at its highest enrollment level since 1996, rose to 2,511 students. The Medical Center's highest enrollment was 2,674 in 1994.

RESEARCH: KU reported a 6.2 percent increase in research expenditures in 2004, setting a record with $274 million.

Especially noteworthy were KU’s research expenditures from grants and contracts from the federal government, which reached a record $155.2 million, an increase of 14.4 percent from $135.7 million in FY2003.

“[The record] reflects KU”s stature as a world-class research university,” said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “The continued upward trend in research expenditures--especially from federal government sources--is a testament to our faculty's outstanding efforts across a broad range of disciplines.”

Two significant federal research grants for projects on the Lawrence campus started last year. The first, to create an NSF Engineering Research Center, will develop environmentally friendly and economically viable chemical processes for industry. The second, an NIH Health Chemical Methodologies and Library Development Center of Excellence, will help assemble extensive libraries of molecules that scientists can use to develop new drugs.

At the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence focuses on building the careers of young scientists and strengthening research infrastructure, including the statewide bioinformatics network.

More: Record research at KU: http://www.ur.ku.edu/News/05N/FebNews/Feb21/research.html

Record spring enrollment at KU: http://www.ur.ku.edu/News/05N/FebNews/Feb23/enrollment.html