UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science received a record amount of grants in the last fiscal year.
IFAS got $140 million for research funding — $14.2 million more than it got in the 2014-15 fiscal year, said John Davis, the IFAS associate dean for research. The largest share of the money, $24 million, went to a project focused on citrus greening, a disease that impairs the growth of citrus plants.
The money came mostly from federal and state agencies, he said. Davis said he thinks the 11-percent increase in funding last year was, in part, due to faculty requests for more aid for more projects and the hiring of 50 to 60 new employees within the past two years.
“We have a lot of really smart people working here,” Davis said. “This is just a wonderful time to be at this institution, because things are growing at all fronts.”
He said most of the research projects involved searching for solutions to social and biological issues, such as droughts and climate change. IFAS used the grant money to hire graduate and undergraduate students and buy supplies and equipment.
UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine, which is part of IFAS, was awarded a $1.3 million donation this past year for Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program, which educates veterinary students and professionals who work in shelters about animal health and wellbeing.
Deborah Turcott, the chief operating officer of Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program, said Maddie’s Fund, a pet rescue foundation that gives grants, has given $11 million to the program since 2008. She said it’s important to give back to others.
“We pay the faculty members who teach the students, who help develop new courses,” she said.
