AUSTIN, Texas—The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing has been ranked No. 10 in nursing school money received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 2002, the highest ranking for a nursing school not linked to a health science center or medical school.
The ranking culminates a more than 10-year effort by the School of Nursing to strengthen its research efforts. In 2002, the school received 12 NIH awards totaling $3.34 million. Ninety nursing schools across the country received NIH funding last year. The university School of Nursing was the only one in the top 40 not associated with a medical school.
In 2001, the school ranked No. 16 in money received from NIH. Total funding for NIH research in the School of Nursing now exceeds $19 million.
“In the 21st century, service professions such as nursing will determine the quality of American life,” said Dean Dolores Sands. “The university School of Nursing is committed to improving care through research whether it be in areas of health promotion, disease prevention or attending to underserved populations.
“The ranking is a testimony to the caliber of our faculty.”
Additional awards granted already this year by the NIH indicate the amount received in 2002 will increase by about 20 percent in 2003.
School of Nursing research topics funded by NIH in 2002 include caregiving, education and group support for diabetic Hispanics, memory in at-risk elderly, obesity, breast cancer support groups, health risks behaviors in youth, quality of life for those with chronic illnesses, end-of-life care and health disparity research. The school also is only one of eight in the country that has two major NIH funded centers—the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Populations and the newly created Southwest Partnership Center for Nursing Research on Health Disparities.
“Because the school is located on an academic campus and is not linked to a health science center or medical school, there are unique opportunities for the faculty to provide leadership in health research and to establish collaborative research teams with colleagues from other disciplines,” said Dr. Alexa Stuifbergen, associate dean for research. “We are thrilled with this new NIH standing.”
Another outgrowth of the school’s redirection towards research has been a $5 million endowment for nursing research provided by Gordon and Mary Cain in 2001.
For more information contact: Nancy Neff, 512-471-6504.
