Two Oklahoma universities have received distinctions for research, earning new prestige for higher education in the Sooner State.
The American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching have placed the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) and Langston University under “Research Colleges and Universities” in the Carnegie Classification.
Only 216 schools across the nation have achieved this designation, which are ranked from types of degrees bestowed, school size and research performed.
Classifications are meant to serve as recognition for research programs among American higher educational institutions that have greatly invested in research and have not been recognized historically.
“In 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education began developing a classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis,” per the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education website.
Langston University, an Historically Black University based in Langston, OK, with campuses in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, gained the new classification in early March.
Notably, the move comes after the Carnegie Commission’s decision to elevate institutions that do not possess a certain classification of research activity but are making strides in different areas of research.
“But last month, the Carnegie Foundation and ACE released the first phase of the redesigned Carnegie Classifications, to more fully recognize the amount of research underway at institutions without a R1 or R2 designation.
“They said the change came in an attempt to better account for and reflect what it called ‘the multifaceted research landscape within U.S. higher education,’” per The Oklahoman, reported by Yahoo News.
The commission’s policy change allowed for recognition to be extended to exceptional research being performed at institutions outside of much larger universities to broaden the research landscape’s composition.
Langston University made a stunning amount of progress in research centered around rural landscapes and environment, with notable excellence in agriculture, science and rehabilitation studies.
“The university is known internationally for its E. (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research, but it also has research programs for horticulture and agronomy, aquaculture and aquaponics, biotechnology, and agribusiness and rural economic development, to name a few.
“Notably, the university’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center was renewed for a third 5-year cycle of funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research in late 2023,” according to a Langston University Press Release.
In the same press release, Langston University’s President Ruth Ray Jackson detailed how much the university devoted in research funds to extend and expand their commitment to knowledge.
“‘Langston University’s research expenditures totaled $10,505,000 in fiscal year 2023. This recognition underscores Langston University’s commitment to expanding research excellence and advancing our institutional impact.’”
Just south of Langston, in Edmond, OK, UCO received the designation in February last month for research activity.
The Oklahoman reported UCO spent, similar to Langston University, much higher than the threshold (more than $2.5 million) for the classification bracket, reaching over $7 million.
Each designation proves that universities across the state of Oklahoma are committed to excellence, even those who may not boast a population of 30,000.
With institutions in Edmond and Langston receiving national recognition, let this be the start of a new wave of momentum for all fields of research in the state, as Oklahoma undergraduate and graduate-level research competes for national success.
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