February 7, 2022

To Our UM Community,

The University of Montana has achieved great things over our 129-year history. Today, we can add securing R1 status to that growing list.

Considered the pinnacle of academic research recognition, an R1 ranking – bestowed by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education – signals a university’s standing among the leading research institutions in the country. The factors for inclusion are rigorous and include research spending, staffing levels to support the research enterprise and number of doctorates awarded by the institution.

Under the leadership of Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship Scott Whittenburg, UM’s research activity has soared in recent years. The $55 million reported in fiscal year 2014 swelled to a UM-record $122 million this past year. UM is the sixth-fastest growing research university in the nation, and in 2020 UM was named one of the top 10 universities in the world for solving the COVID-19 pandemic, due in large part to our impactful research.

Our research growth is not exclusive to labs and medicine. UM researchers are leading the charge to help the world learn more about our changing climate, wildlife, forest management and the natural world. Recently, the research conducted by UM faculty in the College of Humanities & Sciences led to a game-changing federal grant that will expand public access to learn more about history, anthropology, racial justice, Native American studies, the classics and other humanities offerings that serve as the foundation of UM’s mission to provide our state with rich educational opportunities.

Earning R1 validates the tremendous hard work of many outstanding people here at UM. This classification confirms what we know to be true on our campus – that our institution belongs in the company of the top research institutions in the world. This distinguished classification should help us attract even more world-class faculty, as well as the undergraduate and graduate students who will learn from them.

To celebrate this outstanding achievement, UM will host a public event, open to all at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, in the University Center Ballroom. Please keep an eye on UMToday in the coming weeks to learn more about the celebration for this well-deserved milestone.

Thank you to all on our campus who worked so hard to achieve R1 status. It is a great day for UM.

Seth