OU placed three programs among the nation's best in the 2007 Top Research Universities Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index published by the Chronicle of Higher Education and computed by Academic Analytics. The index studied 375 doctoral degree-granting universities.

The top-ranking programs were Foundations of Education (5th), Geological and Mining Engineering (3rd), and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (9th). Index scores were 0.17, 1.03, and 0.66, respectively.

Scoring was a based on weighted factors including publications (citations, articles), grants, and awards and honors (i.e. Fulbright, Nobel). The points for each factor were added to form a general score. The index is based on z-scores measuring standard deviation from the national mean of general scores. An index of zero denotes the program is at the national mean. An index of one denotes the program is one standard deviation unit above the national mean.

http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?year=2007&institution=2976&byinst=Go

In fiscal year 2007, OU set a new record high of $252 million in external funding for research and sponsored programs, more than $12 million above the previous year.

Since 1994, expenditures have grown at an average annual rate of 8.1 percent, from $92 million in 1994 to $252 million in 2007. In recent years, Norman campus expenditures have accounted for the largest growth and increased 8.28 percent from $135.2 million in FY06 to $147.4 million in FY07. That figure includes $73.7 million in expenditures for externally sponsored programs at the OU College of Continuing Education, an increase of 8.64 percent over FY06.

16 April, 2007

In fiscal year 2006, OU set a new record high of $239.2 million in expenditures for research and sponsored programs, more than $17 million above the previous year.  The Norman Campus expended $135.2 million and the Health Sciences Center expended $104 million.

In recent years, Norman campus expenditures have accounted for the largest growth and increased 10.2 percent from fiscal year 2005 to 2006.

Since 1994, research and sponsored program expenditures have grown at an average rate of 8.3%.

In fiscal year 2005, OU submitted 666 new proposals with a funding success rate of 35%.  Including renewals, 768 proposals were submitted with a funding success rate of 53.2%.

In fiscal year 2005, OU ranked 64th among public universities and colleges in research and development expenditures.

One-half of OU’s external funding comes from Federal agencies, with one-sixth from the National Science Foundation and similar amounts from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Commerce. 

The State of Oklahoma provides approximately one-fourth of the support for research and sponsored programs. 

The new University Research Campus, a 271-acre tract of land contiguous to and on the south side the Norman Campus, contains more than 400,000 square feet of research, teaching, laboratory, training and operations space.  Facilities include the National Weather Center, Stephenson Research and Technology Center, and One and Two Partners Place, which co-locate University offices and private companies.  Plans are underway for two additional Partners buildings.

The University challenges researchers to define a bold vision for achieving national and international prominence in areas of strength and growth potential.  These Strategic Research Initiatives typically cut across and involve cluster faculty hires among multiple departments and colleges. 

• The Strategic Initiative in Integrative Life Sciences has active grants that exceed $16 million. A new 152,000-square-foot Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center, to be built on the Research Campus, will house 30 research groups in the life sciences working on projects as diverse as the development of alternative energy sources to new disease treatment therapies.
• The Strategic Initiative in Education Research and Outreach connects the University with more than 500 schools and industry partners to foster high achievement, workforce development and economic growth.  It has received more than $23 million in external funding and has impacted more than 50,000 K-12 students in Oklahoma.
• The Strategic Initiative in Applied Social Research engages in health-related and organizational performance research.  It has current grants totaling more than $15 million.
• External funding for the Strategic Initiative in Weather Radar has doubled each year since its inception in 2003.  A new Radar Innovations Laboratory

                                                                                    
OU has started more than 30 companies since 1998 and they have generated more than $65 million, of which $10 million was cash and more than $20 million in estimated equity value for OU. 

In fiscal year 2006, OU formed five start-up companies, was awarded 19 patents, and processed 51 intellectual property disclosures

Royalty and license income from OU technologies exceeded $10 million from fiscal year 1999 through 2006.

The weather enterprise in Norman employs some 800 people and had a local economic impact of more than $200 million in fiscal year 2005.