South Dakota State University is bolstering its efforts to attain the R1 Research University designation from the American Council on Education (ACE).
ACE oversees the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This framework has categorized U.S. colleges and universities based on attributes like size, degree types and research activity since 1970.
Under the Carnegie Classification, an R1 belongs to the highest order of research universities in the country.
“Having that type of recognition is a signal to potential faculty that this is a great place to build their career,” said Daniel Scholl, SDSU’s vice president for research and economic development. “It communicates to potential students that this is a top research university where they can expect to have different experiences than they would have at another institution that isn’t R1.”
Currently, SDSU is classified as R2: High Spending and Doctorate Production. South Dakota remains one of only four states lacking an R1, something that SDSU hopes to change with the ‘Pathway to Premier’ plan that began in 2023.
‘Pathway to Premier 2030’ is the name of the strategic plan that calls for achieving the R1 designation, among other things, Scholl said.
To achieve R1, SDSU must spend $50 million annually on research expenditures and award 70 Ph.D. degrees per year. According to Scholl, SDSU meets the spending criteria, having spent $94 million on research in the last fiscal year. However, SDSU only awards an average of around 50 doctoral degrees per year. Receiving the R1 will depend on increasing the number of Ph.D. programs or growing existing ones.
Each college throughout SDSU has graduate programs consistently increasing in scope and productivity. For instance, the College of Natural Sciences is conducting research regarding how forest fires contribute to air quality, using satellites to monitor agricultural production and employing artificial intelligence to neutralize harmful microbes in food production areas.
“We are proud of all the research that we do, but something unique would be our bioproducts area,” said Sen Subramanian, dean of the college of natural sciences. “Bioproducts are products derived from agricultural waste materials. Our faculty have developed several new technologies that add value to agricultural waste or by-products and thus increase farm profits.”
The College of Natural Sciences is also working to increase research opportunities for undergraduate students. Subramanian believes that showing undergraduates what it is like to work in a laboratory and engage in original research will stimulate scientific curiosity, driving those students towards Ph.D. programs later in their academic careers.
Acquiring the R1 will not only benefit SDSU, but the city of Brookings as well, Scholl said.
“Being an R1 university will help us attract faculty, staff and students. That brings people and ideas into the Brookings area, and that’s good for an area’s economy,” Scholl said.
While R1 is the highest title a research university can obtain, that does not mean SDSU will be done growing when it earns it. Rather, Scholl affirms that it is simply another step in the evolution of the university.
