The University of Arkansas has announced a five-year, $23.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in support of research and economic development initiatives.

Part of the university's $1.25 billion fundraising campaign, the grant will support strategic, operational, and programmatic initiatives within the university's Office of Research and Innovation and Office of Economic Development. Funds earmarked for the former will be allocated to strategic research and scholarly and creative initiatives, including programs under the direction of the vice chancellor for research and innovation ($2 million); faculty hires in signature research areas across a range of disciplines ($5 million); sponsored research programs ($1.59 million); and faculty research with commercial potential ($5 million). Funds earmarked for the Office of Economic Development will support strategic initiatives, operations, and programs under the direction of the vice chancellor for economic development ($2 million); the expansion of industry partnerships ($1.67 million); capacity building and outreach around technology ventures ($3.6 million); patent funding ($400,000); entrepreneurship and innovation programming ($460,000); and gap funding ($2 million).

"The major factors that most limit our growth are centered on building a critical mass of faculty in strategic research areas and enhancing the infrastructure necessary to maximize research productivity," said UA provost and executive vice chancellor Jim Coleman. "The quality of faculty and new faculty hires has been strong, including an unprecedented nine faculty who received National Science Foundation CAREER awards during the 2018 cycle. Shoring up gaps in our infrastructure is crucial to maximizing the research engine and the commercialization of intellectual property. With strong leadership and infrastructure in place, the conditions for supporting the quality and the volume of faculty research and intellectual property will grow exponentially."