University Times

Pitt has been ranked in a number of key institutional financial quality indicators reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Almanac of Higher Education 2010-11, which ranks leading American colleges and universities in a range of categories.

• In the category Top Institutions in Federal Research-and-Development Expenditures for Science and Engineering, Pitt ranked 12th nationally (14th last year), with $456.2 million.

The rankings are based on fiscal year 2008 data supplied by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Johns Hopkins University again this year topped the list with $1.43 billion in federal R&D expenditures.

• In the category Top Institutions in Total Research-and-Development Expenditures for Science and Engineering based on NSF data, Pitt ranked 17th (19th last year) among all U.S. universities in this year’s Almanac, with $595.6 million.

Topping the list in this category again was Johns Hopkins with $1.7 billion.

• In the category College and University Endowments Over $250 Million 2009, based on information supplied by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), Pitt ranked 29th (the same as last year) with $1.84 billion. Harvard topped the list with an endowment of $25.7 billion.

The category includes a column that shows how much market values of endowments changed during the 2009 fiscal year. In it, Pitt’s one-year change was minus 21.3 percent. (See Feb. 4 University Times.)

• In the category Library Investment Index at University Research Libraries 2008-09, based on information drawn from the Association of Research Libraries, Pitt ranked 31st (30th last year). Harvard again ranked No. 1 in this category.

According to the Almanac, “The ARL Library Investment Index takes into account total library expenditures, salaries of professional staff members, spending on library materials and the number of professional and support staff members. It is a summary measure of the relative size among university libraries belonging to the association.”

Pitt’s total library expenditures were $30,145,301; its salaries of professional staff members totaled $6,927,317; the University’s total library materials expenditures was $14,296,270, and there were 292 professional and support staff members, according to the publication.

• In the category Largest Endowments per Student, based on information supplied by NACUBO for endowments as of June 30, 2009, Pitt ranked 72nd nationally (41st last year). Pitt ranked 12th in this category among public institutions; that information was not included in last year’s Almanac.

Rockefeller University, with a full-time-student equivalent total of 225, topped the list again this year with an endowment of $6.8 million per student. The top public institution was Virginia Military Institute, with $244,561 per student.

The rankings are available at http://chronicle.com/section/Almanac-of-Higher-Education/463/.

—Peter Hart