Private, nonprofit colleges and universities have a long tradition of combining innovative research with education and service to prepare the next generation of scientists and global citizens that could not be easily replicated. Faculty at private, nonprofit colleges and universities are engaged in a wide array of research and scholarship on activities across academic disciplines, including environmental, biomedicine and healthcare, agriculture, engineering, artificial intelligence, technology transfer, race relations and information technology to name just a few. Private, nonprofit colleges and universities
are a critically important part of the nation’s research and development ecosystem driving discovery and innovation.

External research awards received by private, nonprofit higher education in the U.S.
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) totaled over $10.7 billion in 2019. Research funding brings new dollars into college communities across America to create new jobs and spur entrepreneurial growth. 
Private, nonprofit college and university campuses that anchor college towns across
the country are a great place to build a research enterprise and roll out start-up companies because they have the human capital, workforce and facilities nearby to
realize the promise of commercialized research.