Bill helps CSU compete for grants
BYLINE: JASON KOSENA JasonKosena@ coloradoan.com JASON KOSENA JasonKosena@ coloradoan.com
Colorado State University and other research institutions will be better able to compete for federal grants and program funding after Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 182 into law while visiting Fort Collins on Thursday.
Ritter signed the bill while attending the Intel grand opening in the old Celestica building at Harmony and Ziegler roads.
At its core, SB182, sponsored by Fort Collins Democrat Sen. Bob Bacon creates a new state revenue stream that will be used for federal and private research grant proposals which require matching state funds.
Some research funds and grants only are available with matching funds from the state, a reality that made CSU less competitive in recent years when seeking research grants.
The fund will only see $1 million next year, a seemingly small amount compared to the nearly $650 million Colorado's four research universities brought in last year, but the law is a step in the right direction, Ritter said.
"We need to view something like this incrementally," Ritter said. "The million dollars is really the first bit of seed money and we need to start somewhere and this is the starting place. Now we're going to do more to build on it because we understand the power of investment and the power of research universities. The bill gives us the ability to begin the process."
CSU officials said the new law will help them become competitive as the university moves forward.
"This new law will help us become more competitive for research dollars than we already are,"said Bill Farland, vice president of research at CSU.
Additional research at CSU can help the local and regional economy as well as bring new jobs to the area, Farland said, making the new law even more important.
"I think what you will see and what we do see is new businesses, companies and partnerships spinning off of research being done (at CSU)," he said. "We're continuing to grow our research each year and this will help us in terms of increasing that even more."
Bacon, who passed many bills this legislative session that bring money to CSU, said the bill is another step in the right direction.
"Colorado is not competitive unless we have some sort of matching funds available for the competitive grants the state's research universities go after," Bacon said. "The future is always something we should have our eye on and we need to do what we can on our watch to make sure Colorado does what it takes to be competitive and to maintain the strength of our research universities in the long-term."
Last year, CSU gained $235.8 million in grants. In 2005 it received $213.4 million and $159.3 million in 2004.