2016-17 Annual Financial Report
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2016-17 FINANCIAL REPORT 1 As we welcome a new president who to bring experts from across the university will guide the university into its third together to focus on cancer research and century, the George Washington patient care. Also, this fiscal year, GW faculty members University remains financially strong. received multimillion-dollar awards to pursue new strategies to better treat and prevent GW has continued to invest in its long-term diseases like HIV and hookworm and to train priorities and the university’s academic public school teachers to be more effective in programs, location and research portfolio the classroom, among others. continue to attract students and faculty from Faculty honors this year included two across the globe. Guggenheim fellowships, while an alumnus This summer, Thomas LeBlanc became GW’s became the second person affiliated with GW 17th president. An accomplished academic to be named a Rhodes scholar. The university administrator and professor, Dr. LeBlanc joined was again recognized as a top producer of GW from the University of Miami, where he Fulbright scholars and Peace Corps volunteers. served as both chief academic officer and chief The university also concluded – a full year early budget officer. Dr. LeBlanc will draw on his - our most ambitious fundraising campaign extensive experience to build on the strong ever. “Making History: The Campaign for foundation laid by Steven Knapp during his GW” raised $1.02 billion from more than 10-year tenure as president. 67,000 donors to support students, enhance The university continues to invest in improving academics and break new ground through the student experience and ensuring students innovative research. have the tools they need to succeed. This has These highlights are among many detailed led to an increased focus on retention, led by in the following pages that illustrate how the the Office of the Provost, which is working to George Washington University is engaging the ensure that all GW students who matriculate world from the nation’s capital. have the support they need to become GW graduates. Investing in research, a priority for the institution, has resulted in a significant increase in the university’s National Science Foundation ranking. In late 2016, the university opened Louis H. Katz an interdisciplinary Cancer Institute, designed Executive Vice President and Treasurer knowledge in action CONTINUED GROWTH IN RESEARCH FUNDING AND GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE ACADEMIC INITIATIVES, CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INSTITUTES AND NEW UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP HELP BRING GW TO NEW HEIGHTS. Students at GW work with faculty members in classrooms and labs, on projects and research that enrich their academic careers. The National Churchill Library and Center, the first major research facility of its kind in the nation’s capital. Across GW’s campuses, collaborative Strength in Research and groundbreaking institutes have The George Washington University continues to build its research portfolio and opened this fiscal year, with research increase its profile in research. missions dedicated to areas from the arts and humanities to international Researchers across the university • $2.5 million over five years to Joel issues and cancer: have received significant awards to Gomez, an associate professor pursue innovative research that has of educational leadership • The National Churchill Library and the potential to treat diseases, improve and director of the Graduate Center, the first major research education and foster entrepreneurship, School of Education and Human facility of its kind in the nation’s including: Development’s (GSEHD) Institute capital, is dedicated to studying for Education Studies, to train Winston Churchill. • $5.7 million in first-year funding public school teachers and as part of the Martin Delaney education administrators in areas • The Institute for African Studies, Collaboratory grant to develop of Virginia with high populations of which opened in the Elliott School new strategies to cure HIV. GW will English language-learner students of International Affairs (ESIA), work with 17 partners, labs and to better identify challenges such provides a hub for students and the institutions on this research over as grammar proficiency. more than 50 faculty with expertise the next five years. on engagement in Africa to The university ranked well in the research, debate and study African • $3.45 million from the National NSF Higher Education Research and issues. Science Foundation (NSF) to renew Development Survey in fiscal year 2015 the Innovation Corps program in research expenditures from federal • The Cisneros Hispanic Leadership D.C.-area node to support student sources, the most recent data available. Institute, funded by Gilbert and faculty entrepreneurship. Additionally, from fiscal year 2013 to Cisneros, B.A. ’94, and his wife, Through DC I-Corps, GW has fiscal year 2014, GW experienced a Jacki, seeks to help qualified worked to identify inventions that 17.1 percent growth in federal research students attain academic success, have potential to be commercially expenditures while other universities build leadership skill and engage in marketable. in the top 100 federally funded a long-term commitment to making institutions in the NSF survey averaged a difference within the Hispanic • $2.6 million from the National a 3.2 percent decrease in federal community. Cancer Institute to Patti Gravitt, research expenditures. a global health professor in the • The Mayberg Center for Jewish Milken Institute School of Public The Office of the Vice President for Education and Leadership, Health (SPH) to study cervical Research (OVPR) provides incentives housed in GSEHD, links academic cancer prevention in Peru’s Loreto to faculty that foster cross-disciplinary scholarship with the work of Jewish region in the Amazon rainforest. and international projects and that organizations on GW’s campus Dr. Gravitt will look for ways to encourage the inclusion of graduate and provides training programs in engage health providers and the students in research. The office also Jewish education with a focus on community in education, screening provides assistance with editing grant pedagogy and leadership training. and treatment. proposals. 3 ADVANCEMENTS IN Student and Faculty Innovation DETECTING BREAST A record number of students participated in Research Days 2017, an OVPR CANCER initiative. Nearly 600 students presented posters, sharing an impressive breadth of research and discovery on issues of major disciplinary, cross-disciplinary and global significance. At this year’s ninth annual New The 2017 Innovation Competition, Venture Competition, various teams sponsored by the Technology presented business proposals in Commercialization Office within OVPR, one of three tracks—social ventures, brought together GW students, staff technology ventures and new ventures. and faculty to showcase innovations Proposals ranged from new ways of that could be impactful or profitable in thinking about food waste, an on-the- the marketplace. Ideas included plans go makeup kit and technology that to improve the drug development would allow gardeners to save money pipeline to get potentially life-saving Nada Kamona is already making her on irrigation by taking advantage of drugs on the market faster and a mark in research. Ms. Kamona, who is natural condensation. In the past nine method to develop highly sought after majoring in biomedical engineering, years, 40 percent of finalists have synthetic graphite. presented research this year that launched their companies and 26 suggests doctors could use strong startups have been formed. infrared cameras to detect tumors in breast tissue. Ms. Kamona was one of the students who displayed more than 100 posters during the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s (SEAS) annual Student Research and Development Showcase in February. Many projects were the result of months or years of research and collaboration. Tumors typically require more blood flow than healthy cells, Ms. Kamona said. If a patient has a tumor he or she is likely to have a slightly higher local temperature in the region of the tumor. Ms. Kamona and SEAS Professor New Venture Competition winners this year included the company Berg Bites, which produces a healthy snack Murray Loew have been able to detect marketed toward gym-goers with a sweet tooth. slight temperature changes in patients diagnosed with breast cancer using a strong infrared imager, the N2 Imager camera. The camera captures infrared images over a 15-minute interval while the patients sit still and their body temperature cools. “Deep tumors don’t show a lot of temperature difference,” Ms. Kamona said. “But how they cool down with time can be an indication of where they are.” This detection method is safe and non- invasive, Ms. Kamona said. The lab is collecting data through clinical trials and also plans to develop software to detect the changes in infrared images to eliminate human error. Assistant Professor Chung Hyuk Park explains his idea for a personalized social robot for children with autism spectrum disorder at the 2017 Innovation Competition. The GW community gathers to bid farewell to Steven Knapp, who ended his decade-long tenure as president in July. Thomas LeBlanc, GW’s 17th president, was greeted by members of the university community on his first day in the office on Aug. 1. Leadership Transition After 10 years of service to the university, Dr. Knapp ended In January, after a nationwide search, the