Leading Research Universities Report

Lawmakers have reached agreement on legislation that would reauthorize two crucial federal programs that facilitate innovation by making it easier for startups and other small businesses to bring research discoveries to market.

New findings from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation suggest that current students and graduates feel much more positive than the general public about their campus experiences and the value of their degrees.

Over the past six months, several AAU universities have announced efforts to expand free tuition programs for students from families earning an income of $100,000-$200,000.

AAU member institutions are once again overrepresented in an annual ranking of universities worldwide that patented the most inventions. The rankings, released by the National Academy of Inventors, are based on the number of utility patents granted to universities by the United States Patent and Trademark Office each year, and demonstrate the crucial role research universities play in the global innovation ecosystem.

At a recent DOE summit, university and science philanthropy leaders came together to begin developing a vision for success for the Genesis Mission, a national initiative that seeks to harness the power of AI to solve the most difficult challenges facing the nation.

A widely recognized list of researchers who are most often cited by their peers shows that the United States, powered by scientists at America’s research universities, continues to produce more highly cited researchers than any other nation. However, U.S. dominance is eroding as China rapidly gains ground.

Colleges spent a substantial portion of their endowment funds on scholarships and groundbreaking research in FY25 despite declining returns on the funds and fewer donations, according to the latest NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments.

The Fulbright Program recognized the higher education institutions in the United States that produced the most Fulbright students and scholars last year – AAU member institutions again lead the list.

Last December, AAU submitted a response to a request for information by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on steps and actions the Trump administration could take to accelerate the American scientific enterprise and enable groundbreaking discoveries.

Small business and intellectual property advocates pressed Congress to protect the Bayh-Dole Act and reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) federal grant programs, at a Capitol Hill panel on February 4.