University Of Central Arkansas

University Of Central Arkansas Finance And Administration Division, headquartered in Conway, Arkansas, is a state-controlled institution of higher learning that operates as a federal grant recipient, not a federal contractor. The division administers research grants and student-support programs across a diverse portfolio of STEM education, academic workforce development, and applied research initiatives spanning 125 total awards (87 prime, 38 sub-awards) from 33 federal agencies since 2002.

The division's concrete capability footprint centers on undergraduate STEM education enhancement, workforce training, research administration infrastructure, and applied research execution in biology and computer science. Representative prime grant work includes a $343,292 NSF Biological Sciences award (CFDA 47.074) exploring mitochondrial dynamics through FtsZ protein function research in undergraduate researchers at the university; a $120,244 NSF STEM Education award (CFDA 47.076) for peer mentor preparation and teaching effectiveness in engineering makerspaces; and an NSF Finders Foundry planning grant exploring scenario-based adaptive reasoning tools for rural middle and high school students navigating AI-shaped futures. The division also holds grants from the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education supporting GEAR UP Arkansas and Upward Bound programs, HHS Health Resources and Services Administration funding for workforce development and training programs, and a Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service award investigating thermal tolerance in the Rocky Shiner species endemic to Arkansas river basins.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward research and education agencies. NSF leads with 23 awards, followed by the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education with 20 awards and HHS Health Resources and Services Administration with 18 awards; these three agencies account for 62 percent of the award count. NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (9 awards) and the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (7 awards) round out the top five. The division's sub-award footprint reflects participation in multi-institutional research networks anchored by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (appearing as prime grantee in multiple leadership education and biomedical partnership programs), University of California Irvine (CO2 capture and conversion research collaborative), and Fresno Foundation California State University (engineering education capacity building).

Activity accelerated from 2022 through 2025, growing from 5 awards in 2022 to a peak of 18 in 2023, then moderating to 12 in 2025. The portfolio shows only two awards with ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal near-term recompete exposure. The source describes the division's Office of Research and Sponsored Programs as operating at sub-million annual M&O budgets ($16,500 annually) and F&A support ($90,000 average annual distribution), supporting approximately 80 unique principal investigators annually with combined average annual awards of $6.8 million (excluding Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund awards). Over the past two years, faculty received nineteen subawards totaling $1.015 million through the Arkansas INBRE network, reflecting the state's NIH IDeA Program eligibility and the division's positioning within regional research consortia. The division does not hold federal contracts or government-wide acquisition vehicles; all federal funding flows through grants and sub-awards.