U-M as a Research Powerhouse: Excellence, Urgency, and the Path Forward

By Trachette Jackson and Jason Owen-Smith
Associate Vice Presidents for Research, University of Michigan

At the University of Michigan, we are privileged to witness every day what can happen when world-class talent, a spirit of public service and unwavering curiosity converge. Our research community, which spans more than 100 top-ranked programs across three campuses, stands as a leader in innovation, opportunity and impact.

But being a research powerhouse means more than accumulating accolades. It requires a deep sense of responsibility: to our students, our state and the wider world. As we reflect on U-M’s position in a rapidly changing landscape, we see both the immense strength of our enterprise and the significant opportunities ahead.

Excellence at Scale, With Purpose

What sets Michigan apart is excellence at scale. Across disciplines, from engineering and environmental science to the arts and humanities, our programs consistently rank among the nation’s best. With more than 100 fields and subfields in the top ten, a distinction matched by only one other institution, this breadth is not accidental. It allows us, time and again, to bring diverse perspectives together to solve problems that matter most: water conservation, urban sustainability, human health and more.

Generous investment from federal agencies, industry partners and private foundations has enabled Michigan to report record-breaking research volume, with more than $2 billion in research conducted last year. These funds touch every corner of our community. They create jobs, launch new companies and give our students, nearly half of our research workforce, the experiences they need to become tomorrow’s leaders.

We stand third overall in NIH funding with 4 research units in the top 10, and seventh overall in NSF funding, ranking in the top ten across four major NSF funding areas, including the number one spot in social, behavioral and economic sciences. We are the only institution honored with multiple Just Futures awards from the Mellon Foundation. These distinctions reflect our faculty’s extraordinary contributions as nationally recognized scholars, members of prestigious academies and recipients of major awards who remind us that genuine breakthroughs happen when diverse expertise and backgrounds unite with shared purpose.

Navigating a Rapidly Changing Research Environment

Yet to remain at the forefront, we must also be clear-eyed about the environment in which we operate. Over the last decade, the context for university research has changed dramatically. Competition for research funding has gotten fiercer. Priorities are shifting toward larger scale, more interdisciplinary research yoked to economic, workforce development and other practical concerns. Federal sources, the lifeblood of public research, face increasing uncertainty. Michigan’s history of interdisciplinary collaborative work, successful work done in partnership with organizations from the largest multinational corporations to local community groups, and our lasting commitment to our public mission position us to thrive. More than 74% of our faculty actively engage with external grants, but the way we will work to deliver high-impact results depends on our collective ability to adapt the individual creativity of interested faculty to the research environment we face today.

This is not a challenge unique to Michigan; peer institutions across the country are making rapid strides, investing heavily in new infrastructure and seeking innovative partnerships. While our research expenditures continue to grow, the national landscape demands that we innovate not just in what we study, but in how we organize and support those efforts.

Resilience, Community, and Shared Commitment

In this dynamic landscape, our resolve is unwavering. We know that our impact is greater when we work together, when faculty, students, staff and partners from all sectors rally to work on complex questions and shared goals. Recent initiatives, including the launch of interdisciplinary Impact Institutes, the expansion of our faculty and the reimagining of campus spaces through Campus Plan 2050, demonstrate Michigan’s bold intent to remain a world leader in discovery for the public good.

These aren’t just paper ambitions. Through partnerships that expand high-performance computing capacity and the computational research it enables across fields, a university-wide AI strategy and targeted Launchpad investments in infrastructure and capabilities, OVPR is helping create the conditions for faculty ideas to thrive amid rapid change.

We’re also defining, for the first time, university-wide research goals and strategies, aligning them across units so that our impact continues to grow as we develop new means to turn our quality and size toward major challenges. This coordinated approach ensures that our excellence at scale translates into excellence with impact: research that engages faculty, staff and students across our existing areas of excellence to advance knowledge and transform lives and communities.

The Road Ahead

 We tell our story not just to celebrate Michigan’s unique position, but to underscore the opportunity before us. Research universities fuel life-saving innovations, build local and national prosperity and illuminate solutions to society’s most pressing challenges. Our mission, rooted in public service and driven by a restless pursuit of excellence, is to lead those efforts with vision, coordination and intentionality.

The world is watching, and the stakes for research-driven impact have never been higher. As Michigan researchers, we are boldly ambitious. Our community is united in purpose, determined to navigate times of change and committed to showing what is possible when unparalleled talent is matched by strategic vision.

We embrace this moment, together. Let’s continue to shape a future worthy of Michigan’s legacy and promise.