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Cooperative Extension Service Communications and Technology Department 3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-6342 • fax (307) 766-3998 • www.uwyo.edu |
For Immediate Release
Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu
Archived News Site www.uwyo.edu/agadmin/news/news.htm
Date: March 5, 2007
UW animal
science department in national top 10 for research
The Department of Animal Science in the University of Wyoming’s College of Agriculture tied for seventh nationally in faculty research productivity, according to rankings listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The department was ranked in the agricultural sciences category, and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Zoology and Physiology was ranked eighth in the biological sciences category.
"The life sciences have been a priority for the University of Wyoming since at least the development of our first Academic Plan in 1997," said UW Vice President for Research and Economic Development Bill Gern. "This ranking is a validation of our commitment to excellence in this important scientific teaching and research cluster."
“I think this validates in a highly respected, prestigious publication what I have always said about our people,” said Professor Doug Hixon, head of the animal science department. “We have excellent, productive scientists on our faculty who are conducting high-quality research comparable to that of any land-grant institution in the country.”
The University of Massachusetts Amherst was ranked first, followed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cornell University, University of California at Davis, University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“We proved we could run with the ‘big dogs!’” said Hixon. “There is no substitute for good people, and I’m very proud of our faculty and staff members and the graduate students who are the inherent energy of any research program.”
The 2005 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index ranks 7,294 individual doctoral programs in 104 disciplines at 354 institutions. UW was among 166 schools ranked as large research universities, which include 15 or more Ph.D. programs. Academic Analytics, a company owned partially by Stony Brook University of New York, developed the comprehensive ranking system.
The index rated a total of 177,816 faculty members nationwide. Each faculty member’s productivity was measured on three factors: publications, which can include the number of books and journal articles published as well as citations of journal articles; federal-grant dollars awarded; and honors and awards.
For each discipline, a weight is assigned to each variable. For example, when books are included, their weight is five times that of journal articles. Awards considered more prestigious were given more weight than others.
The animal science department led the top 10 in the percentage of faculty (71 percent) receiving grants. The zoology and physiology department led the top 10 in the average amount of grants received ($454,000). Both departments were among the leaders in other weighted categories.
“I hope this tells the people of Wyoming we have good people who are working on research that is relevant in addressing some of the production and economic challenges associated with animal agriculture systems,” Hixon noted.
Hixon says his department needs to continue to enhance its ability to extend this knowledge to the producers throughout the state of Wyoming in completion of the university’s land-grant mission.
Department members were pleased to be recognized in such a high profile manner but realize these honors cycle and that the real challenge is to sustain a high level of productivity over an extended period, said Hixon.
The complete rankings can be found on the Web at:
http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=2&secondary=19
On the Web: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/Anisci/
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