The University of Hawaiʻi has received $615 million in extramural funding this year, beating its own record for the third consecutive year.
UH this week announced the funding, which will go toward research and training programs. The external investments come from outside agencies — mostly the federal government, but also from private and nonprofit organizations.
This year’s funding was nearly $100 million more than last year’s, which was a record-setting $516 million. In 2022, the university system received $505 million in extramural funding.
University leadership and elected officials attended a news conference at UH Mānoa to announce the funding. Among invitees were most of Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation — who noted that the collaboration between them, the university and other entities helped drive the funding.
“This really is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of partnership. The dollar amount matters, but it's also about what we spend the money on. It's climate action, it's climate adaptation, it’s science in the context of culture, it’s Native Hawaiian health, it’s Native Hawaiian education,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.
The extramural funding is for a breadth of programs. UH highlighted, among others, funding for the Hawaiʻi Climate Smart Partnership to help farmers, ranchers and foresters establish climate-smart practices, a Red Hill Independent Health Registry and a National Native American Language Resource Center.
Gov. Josh Green said the funding will also affect university students’ education.
“This is not brain drain, this is brain gain … which is an elite university bringing resources in, making sure that people really value higher education. It’s extraordinary to see,” Green said.
He added, “This last decade, a lot of people have not focused on higher education, and there has been a debate nationally about whether it's worth putting in those dollars and time into our young people. Well I can tell you, it is worth it.”
UH officials believe they can eventually reach $1 billion in extramural funding.
