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November 10, 1994

Pitt cracks top 10 in NIH funding

For the first time in its history, Pitt is among the top 10 universities in terms of receiving funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

NIH awarded Pitt $132.4 million during the 1993 federal fiscal year, Chancellor J. Dennis O'Connor reported at the Nov. 9 Senate Council meeting.

Johns Hopkins University was the leading awardee with $259.3 million in NIH support, O'Connor said, followed by the University of California at San Francisco with $186.4 million, and the University of Washington with $174.5 million. Pitt ranks 10th behind Washington University, the chancellor said.

"The top 10 recipients of the NIH extramural support in FY 1993, as a group, received 19 percent of the total (NIH) extramural award funds," O'Connor said.

He added that Pitt's medical school ranked 12th nationally among the top 100 NIH-funded medical schools, with $92.2 million in NIH support.

O'Connor announced the NIH rankings early in the Senate Council meeting. No Council member commented on the news until, late in the meeting, Senior Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Thomas Detre said he found his fellow Council members' lack of response "astonishing." "Everywhere (else) in the world, somebody would have jumped for joy to learn that a university that used to be in 36th place (in NIH funding) 11 years ago had made so much progress," Detre said.

University Senate President James Holland replied: "I think it was a great announcement, but that's what we expect at this University. We are great." Council later approved a motion by Herb Chesler to note the University's top 10 status by congratulating NIH-funded researchers at Pitt.

Also at the Council meeting, O'Connor reported that job performance reviews of Toni Carbo Bearman, dean of the School of Library and Information Science, and Bradford campus President Richard McDowell "are in the final stages of completion." During the current academic year, Provost James Maher has decided to initiate a similar review of Peter Koehler, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said O'Connor. "Because this evaluation involves many faculty and will undoubtedly take a great deal of time, Provost Maher has determined that Dean Koehler's evaluation will be the only evaluation undertaken this year involving the Provost's area schools," the chancellor said.

As for the Health Sciences schools, an ongoing review of medical school Dean George Bernier will be delayed while a questionnaire soliciting faculty opinions of Bernier is re-circulated, O'Connor reported. Only 30 percent of medical faculty responded to the questionnaire the first time it was distributed, he said. Public health Dean Donald R. Mattison will be evaluated during the current academic year, O'Connor said.

— Bruce Steele

Filed under: Feature,Volume 27 Issue 6

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