University Of Richmond

University Of Richmond, a private nonprofit research university headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, acts as a federal grant recipient across 43 agencies, competing full-and-open in basic and applied research, education and training, and educational services. The institution does not hold prime federal contracts; instead, it receives federal research grants and cooperative agreements from civilian science and education agencies, with 96% of its recent awards as prime recipient.

The university's federal footprint spans fundamental research in chemistry, biology, neuroscience, astronomy, and mathematical sciences; applied pest-management and biological-control research conducted through cooperative agreements with the Department of Agriculture; and educational services including tuition reimbursement for military personnel and conference hosting. Representative award examples include a $502,981 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (CFDA 47.074) awarded March 1, 2025, to explore mechanistic insights into AMPA receptor trafficking during long-term potentiation through undergraduate-led research; a $491,863 Project Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (CFDA 45.161) awarded January 1, 2025, to establish the Center for Liberal Arts and AI (CLAAI), a networked collaboration with 16 small liberal arts colleges in the Southern United States to study the social, cultural, and legal implications of artificial intelligence; a $218,847 Cooperative Agreement from the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded September 30, 2026, to develop and improve artificial diet-based rearing systems for Emerald Ash Borer and its parasitoid biological control agents; and multiple tuition-and-fees delivery orders under a Basic Ordering Agreement with the Naval Education and Training Command (N0024420G0004), each valued at approximately $25,000 to $25,755, supporting Navy personnel pursuing higher education.

The National Science Foundation dominates the award count with 42 grants, while the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service places 15 cooperative agreements, predominantly for invasive species pest management and biocontrol research. The Department of the Navy's Naval Education and Training Command accounts for five awards representing $1.1 million in combined potential value through tuition reimbursement delivery orders under its Basic Ordering Agreement. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Shared Services Center issued five awards totaling $953 thousand in potential value. The top five customers by award count (NSF, Army, APHIS, DOE, NEH) cover 55% of the institution's award portfolio.

The university's recent award trajectory shows moderation: 11 awards in 2022, declining to 9 in 2023, 9 again in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 4 in 2026. Eleven awards are slated for completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating moderate recompete exposure. The university holds parent vehicles including Basic Ordering Agreement DAKF4076A0099 (9 task orders) and DAAG3481C0004 and related Indefinite Delivery Contracts with Army agencies. The primary PSC concentration reflects the institution's posture: Education/Training tuition and fees dominate the portfolio at 37 awards, with general education and training adding another 4 awards, while research and development work spans basic research in space science and defense applications.

University Of Richmond acts as a sub-recipient on 8 grants (4% of total awards), including participation in a Stanford University-led NIH project investigating intergenerational health impacts of health coverage and immigration policies (sub-award awarded May 7, 2024) and a Yale University-led tsetse fly microbiome research project under the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (sub-award awarded December 12, 2023, including a $32,454 sub-award component for blood fitness gene investigation in Sodalis glossinidius). The institution also serves as a networked partner in the CLAAI humanities initiative rather than a traditional subcontractor, bringing visual AI research expertise to the consortia.