Once again, Pacific University leads the Northwest’s private universities in spending on research and development opportunities for faculty and students.
For the sixth straight year, and for the seventh time in the last eight years, Pacific is the top private research university in the Pacific Northwest according to the National Science Foundation’s annual Higher Education Research and Development Survey, which ranks over 600 colleges and universities in the U.S. based on their research expenditures.
“Experiential learning and research are cornerstones of the Pacific educational experience,” said Pacific President Jenny Coyle ’90, OD ’93, MS ’00. “As the top private research institution in the Pacific Northwest, we use grants and other research funding to provide tangible, hands-on learning opportunities and unparalleled experiences for students on their way to their careers.”
During the 2024 fiscal year, Pacific expended over $8.3 million in research and development, ranking fifth among all colleges and universities in Oregon. Pacific trailed only the state’s four largest public institutions and spent over $3 million more than the next highest-ranked private institution in the region.
The federal government sponsored over $3.3 million worth of the research, while $1.29 million came from state and local governments.
Recent research and development grants awarded to Pacific faculty and students include:
• A $1.7 million grant by the National Science Foundation to Professor of Education Kevin Carr to develop and provide a comprehensive training and mentorship program to prepare K-12 STEM teachers in the Pacific Northwest.
• A $12,000 grant by the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Katherine Bisbee II Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to Professor of Psychology Heide Island to continue a census of sea otters on the Washington coast.
• A nearly $366,000 grant by the National Institutes of Health to Pharmacy Professor Fawzy Elbarbry for a three-year study to identify naturally occurring substances that could reduce inflammation in heart patients.
Additionally, Pacific ranked 13th in research and development spending among all West Coast private institutions. The ranking places Pacific among a select group of institutions such as Stanford University, the University of Southern California and the California Institute of Technology.
In February 2025, Pacific was one of 216 institutions nationwide designated as a Research College & University by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizing colleges and universities with annual spending of at least $2.5 million in research and development. The university was just short of receiving a Research 2 designation, recognizing research spending of at least $5 million per year and the award of an average of 20 PhD degrees per year.
Learn more about the opportunities that Pacific provides faculty and students in Celebrating Discovery 2025, a report on the university’s research and development efforts produced by Pacific’s Office of Scholarship and Sponsored Projects.