I've always meant to ask these questions and never got around to it, so thanks in advance for you people in the know on this who are kind enough to respond. So much of conference expansion talk around the B1G is about research and being a "major research university." So here are some questions I have. 1. Where do a college's research revenues come from? Private sector business? Federal government? NGOs? Global institutions? State governments? I imagine this might vary by school. But can you provide me with an approximate ratio of the university system on whole? And is VT in line with what a "normal" research university might bring in terms of this ratio? 2. How does schools go about increasing their research revenues? Is it hard to do? I know there is a lot of talk of the University of Nebraska's lack of research revenue prowess lately. How easy is this to fix if it is indeed a problem? 3. How much of the total university research "industry" is legit? Some research sounds like a racket to me. Am I correct in this assumption? If so, how much would you say is important ground breaking research? And how much of it is wasteful, if not corrupt? 4. Can you assess for me what Virginia Tech's place is in the field of research universities? Do we have specialties within the research community? Are we a growing research university? Are we close to AAU status? How much of all of this is a priority for our current leadership? And do you think our priorities or lack thereof in this realm are appropriate? Anyway, I am one who always viewed college as going to class to learn, have some fun, and win some football games. But the research side of things is just something I had little knowledge or interest in. But in terms of conference realignment, it has caused me to want to take a closer look at it and learn more. Please feel free to link any websites or articles on the topic that could be useful to get me (and others here) up to speed. Thanks again. I appreciate the knowledge that is brought to this board on a daily basis. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 4/13/2024, 9:42:35 AM