Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, doing business as V C U, is a state-controlled public research university and academic medical center in Richmond, Virginia, that acts as a prime recipient on federal research grants and training awards across the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Department of Education, as well as a prime contractor on federal service and training contracts primarily with the Social Security Administration and the Department of the Navy. VCU competes in full-and-open federal markets; it is not an SBA set-aside vendor. The university operates as both an educational institution (NAICS 611310 — Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools) and a research performer across biomedical sciences, health services, STEM education, and workforce development.

VCU's federal revenue footprint spans research grants, training awards, and service contracts. SCI-reported federal service contract invoicing reached $7.3 million in FY2025 across 34.2 FTEs, with invoicing stable in the $7.3–$7.9 million range over FY2023–FY2025 and a median government-paid hourly rate of $115.26/hr (10th to 90th percentile range: $86.97–$193.38/hr). The broader award portfolio shows 3,255 total federal awards (prime and sub) with combined potential value of $469 million, though obligated dollars across all awards reached $3.91 billion—a ratio indicating substantial multi-year grant funding. Awards-per-year data show growth from 199 in 2023 to 294 in 2024, declining to 191 in 2025, with 133 awarded in 2026 and 6 in 2027 (source cutoff date was 2026-10-15).

Customer concentration is broad across 190 distinct federal agencies. The top five by award count are the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health (411 awards), the National Science Foundation (236 awards), the Social Security Administration (173 awards), the National Cancer Institute (168 awards), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (145 awards)—collectively accounting for 35% of awards. By potential dollar value, the Social Security Administration leads with $149.5 million (173 awards), followed by the Department of the Navy ($148 million, 42 awards), NIDA ($59.6 million, 145 awards), NCI ($5.5 million, 168 awards), and the broader NIH ($2.1 million, 411 awards)—together representing 78% of combined potential value. This split reflects VCU's mix of high-volume, smaller-award research grants (NIH, NSF) and larger service contracts (Social Security Administration, Navy training and tuition orders).

VCU holds five primary parent vehicles on the supply side. The Social Security Administration's Indefinite Delivery Contract SS001060005 generates 127 task orders with $14 million combined potential value; SS000760050 yields 43 task orders ($3.9 million); SS001560034 carries 27 task orders ($20.2 million); Navy contract N0060085G1826 supports 13 task orders; and Army contract 28321320D00060017 carries 8 task orders ($24.7 million). A Basic Ordering Agreement with the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (Educational Services Agreement, effective May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2036, no obligated ceiling) provides a ten-year framework for future biomedical and health services task orders.

As a prime contractor, VCU accounts for 85% of awards (2,771); subcontractor work comprises 15% (484 awards). Across SCI-reportable prime service contracts, subcontractors performed an average of 2% of total contractor hours, with 6 named subcontractors reported over the SCI period. The university acts predominantly as a prime performer of research and training services and does not appear in the source as a significant subcontractor to other large primes.

Recent representative work spans basic and translational research, clinical trials, and federal workforce development. On the research side, NIH awards include grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for non-nicotine compounds in electronic nicotine delivery systems ($1.182 million, FY2026), the National Cancer Institute for TROP2-targeted antibody-drug conjugates ($511.930 million, FY2026), and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for phospholipase A2 in periodontal pathology ($446.611 million, FY2026). NSF awards include graduate research fellowship support ($371 thousand, FY2026) and STEM education research on secure AI coding practices ($250 thousand, FY2026). On the service contract side, the Social Security Administration maintains single-award indefinite delivery contracts for workforce training and data services, with task orders valued in the $0.050–$0.715 million range (Navy tuition and education support); the Department of the Navy issued multiple delivery orders in May–August 2026 for tuition and fees totaling under $1 million each. The university also serves as a sub-recipient on multisite NIH grants (e.g., a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute asthma trajectories study with Georgia State University, FY2026; a myotonic dystrophy consortium with the University of Kansas Medical Center and others, FY2025).

Recompete exposure in the next 24 months stands at 246 awards with combined potential value of $34.9 million, representing a material pipeline of awards approaching renewal or completion. The university's federal grant funding is stable and diversified across disease and health research areas (neurology, oncology, infectious disease, substance use, cardiovascular health), STEM education and workforce training (NSF education programs, Department of Education TRIO and rehabilitation training), and health workforce development (training contracts with SSA and Navy). No major corporate restructurings, subsidiary acquisitions, or vehicle retirements are evident in the source; the university operates through VCU Health System Authority as a subordinate health care delivery subsidiary. VCU's role in federal contracting and grantsmanship is that of a large research and educational institution providing investigator-led science, student training, clinical trial hosting, and workforce pipeline services across federal civilian and defense health agencies.