Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University, a public, state-controlled institution of higher learning based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, acts as a federal grant recipient (85% prime awards) and holds a single active federal contract IDV with the Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. NSU is a federally designated minority-serving institution and Native American-serving non-tribal institution (NASNTI) that serves over 66 percent low-income and underrepresented students, predominantly from rural Oklahoma; the university competes in full-and-open federal funding channels, not set-asides.

NSU's federal footprint centers on education, workforce development, and applied research in STEM and behavioral health. As a prime grant recipient, the university delivers postsecondary transition and enrichment programs, behavioral health workforce training, STEM teacher preparation, and research infrastructure support. Recent representative work includes a $5.986 million Project Grant from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (CFDA 11.028) awarded February 2023 for Project INVESTS to expand remote learning and online education capacity; a $796 thousand Project Grant from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (CFDA 12.630) awarded September 2024 for applied research in science and engineering; a $720 thousand Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.076) awarded April 2023 to increase secondary STEM teacher supply in high-need Oklahoma districts; a $518 thousand Project Grant from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (CFDA 12.630) awarded July 2026 for a Research Equipment Cluster for Energy Materials Characterization; and a $373 thousand Project Grant from the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (CFDA 84.407) awarded October 2025 for the RIVERHAWKS RISING transition program serving students with intellectual disabilities. NSU also holds a $3 million Congressional Directives construction grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (CFDA 93.493) awarded September 2023, a $383 thousand grant from the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program (CFDA 16.710) awarded October 2024 to integrate mental health clinicians within campus police, and a five-year cooperative agreement with Indian Health Services (CFDA 93.970) awarded July 2024 for the NEORAAIN nursing program targeting Native American student recruitment and advancement. NSU maintains an active federal contract IDV with the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (awarded April 2020, completion April 2030) for educational services and student tuition assistance, though no funded task orders are currently listed; NSU also holds a $15 thousand purchase order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (August 2024) for manikin evaluation of firefighter turnout gear with phase change materials.

Customer concentration is fragmented across federal education and research agencies. The Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education leads by award count (26 awards, approximately 27% of the prime footprint) and anchors most of NSU's postsecondary program funding including TRIO initiatives, NASNTI grants, and transition programs. The Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (14 awards, $90 thousand combined potential value) is the second-largest customer by count and carries the only active contract vehicle—an indefinite delivery contract (N0018910GZ009) with nine task orders and $58 thousand combined potential value. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (4 awards) funds applied research and equipment grants under CFDA 12.630; the Department of Health and Human Services funnel through both the National Institutes of Health (8 awards) and Health Resources and Services Administration (5 awards) for health workforce and behavioral health initiatives; the National Science Foundation funds STEM education and undergraduate research projects; and the Department of Justice funds community policing innovation. NSU has worked with 30 distinct federal agencies in recent years, though the top five account for 59 percent of awards by count and 82 percent of combined potential value.

NSU's subcontract footprint is subordinate to its prime grant role. The university acts as a sub-recipient on research projects anchored by the University of Oklahoma (multiple STEM and biomedical research sub-awards awarded February–April 2026), Oklahoma State University (an NSF LSAMP STEM alliance sub-award awarded February 2025), the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence (manufacturing extension services sub-awards awarded July 2023 and July 2024), the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (higher education prevention services sub-awards for opioid and stimulant awareness, awarded July 2023 and July 2024), the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ecological survey work, awarded January 2024), and the University of Kentucky Research Foundation (research administration capacity-building sub-awards, awarded November 2023). These subcontracts position NSU as a local research performer and workforce-development implementer within larger statewide and regional initiatives rather than as a strategic technology partner.

Activity has been episodic. Awards per year ranged from one in 2022 to 17 in 2023, then contracted to eight in 2024 and three in 2025, with five awarded to date in 2026 (two weeks ago). Nine awards face ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months and therefore present recompete opportunity. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $94.5 million against a combined potential value of $127 thousand, indicating that the source's potential-value data reflects a mix of small grants and contract ceilings, with most funding already spent or obligated. NSU's grant-administration capacity is constrained—the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs operates with one director and one proposal development specialist serving three campuses, and post-award grants management relies on one director, one assistant director, and one grant accountant across the institution.