Both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona ranked among the top 1% of schools across the world in this year’s Center for World University rankings, putting them ahead of schools like the University of Connecticut and Georgetown University.
The group compiled data from more than 20,000 institutions internationally, studying graduate employability and academics. Among the U.S. rankings, UA landed in 48th, ASU in 67th and NAU in 185th. All three schools were credited for their research influence.
That was key in developing the overall rankings according to the organization. Faculty citations and research made up 40% of the scores given.
In fiscal year 2022, ASU spent $797.2 million on research, growing by 18% from the year prior. In fiscal year 2023, UA spent even more with $954 million in investments. Both schools are in the top 4% nationally for research spending. A large portion of research funding in the state is from federal investments.
While NAU spent less at around $77.5 million in fiscal year 2023, the school has continued to expand its research budget. NAU is also likely to reach R1 status next year after the new criteria goes into effect. An R1 institution is a school recognized within the highest tier of research universities.
The Arizona Board of Regents, the body overseeing the state's public university system, sets research spending targets for each year to support what the board said is "essential to our state’s economic future" in a 2023 report. The system has surpassed those benchmarks.
This year’s rankings come at a critical point for UA, which is working to recover from a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall discovered last fall. Through a hiring freeze and several other budget cuts, school officials now expect to bring a deficit that was once $117 million down to $52 million by next year.
The fiscal headaches were blamed on a variety of issues including a decentralized budgeting model and inflation. But in the fall, UA President Robert Robbins acknowledged large investments on merit scholarships for out-of-state students and research initiatives also made an impact.
"We made a bet on spending money," Robbins said in a November meeting. "We just overshot."
In February, Robbins told The Arizona Republic the school would grow its research spending to $1 billion in the coming years. He said he didn’t regret the move but admitted the school had been using money from its reserves to fund it.
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UA was ranked among the top 0.5% of schools internationally this year, compared to ASU in the top 1% and NAU in the top 4%. The study placed UA faculty highly, at 69th globally, making it one of the school’s standout characteristics in the rankings.
Throughout ongoing budget discussions, faculty have long called on university leaders to protect its academic staff, citing it as the “engine” of the R1 land-grant university. While the school’s president and interim chief financial officers have said they too are committed to protecting UA’s academic mission, many faculty are uneasy, saying cuts on the horizon would go on to hurt students.
Hundreds of people attended a general faculty meeting last month to go over the school’s deficit. The group later passed a resolution asking the administration to stop ongoing layoffs until “detailed, transparent, and clear financial data and guidance on financial rules” is available.
Helen Rummel covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter:@helenrummel.
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