Higher Education Research Initiative (989)

Authority: Discretionary Inclusion.

A. Out of this appropriation, $510,000 the first year and $510,000 the second year from the general fund is designated for the Hampton University Foundation to support efforts at the Proton Therapy Institute, which is dedicated for the use of protons in the treatment of cancerous tumors with fewer side effects. 

B. Out of this appropriation, $6,000,000 the first year and $6,000,000 the second year from the general fund is designated for the establishment of a cancer research and treatment pool.  Funding will be distributed to support efforts at the following institutions:  $3,000,000 each year in one-time funding to the Hampton University Foundation to complete cancer treatment facilities at the Proton Therapy Institute, $1,500,000 each year to the University of Virginia to support cancer and medical translational research, and $1,500,000 each year to the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University for continued cancer research.  Each institution’s funds will remain unalloted until it has submitted an annual report to the Governor and Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by September 1, outlining the research/treatment accomplishments during the previous fiscal year.

C. Out of this appropriation, $2,600,639 the first year and $2,600,639 the second year from the general fund is designated to establish a competitive research grant available to any public higher education institution in the Commonwealth.  Funding shall be allocated for those research efforts identified in an institution’s six-year plan, which will result in matching grant or investment funding equal to at least two times the value of the general fund support within a three-year period or the commercialization of a product.  The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretaries of Finance, Technology, and Commerce and Trade, shall establish a methodology upon which research grants may be allocated.  Such methodology should reflect the goals of the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011.  Funding shall also be contingent on an annual report being submitted to the Governor, Secretaries of Finance, Education, Technology, and Commerce and Trade, as well as the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, and the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, identifying the research accomplishments, including the return on the Commonwealth’s investment.