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As outlined in our Strategic Framework and in alignment with the Scholarship First Agenda’s Pentagon Priorities, it is the university’s aspiration to be among the Top 50 research universities in the United States. This plan will be designed to get us there.  

Yes. The LSU System comprises eight institutions and colleges across Louisiana. Each campus conducting research plays an integral role in reaching our objective to be a Top 50 research university.

Certain milestones, such as when our research expenditures increase to approximately $800M, will prove we have met this challenge. President Tate has answered this question in a more aspirational vein: "We will know we have succeeded when our research solves Louisiana’s most intractable problems and, in turn, benefits the whole world," he said. "That is what Louisianans, and our global community, are asking of us." 

We are partnering with the Huron Consulting Group and Urban Impact Advisors to help guide our efforts and create a blueprint for success. They will help us enhance our operations collectively and as individual campuses. Together, our partners have worked with leading universities, health centers, and top research institutions in the United States, including:

• All Top 100 Research Institutes
• All 71 members of the Association of American Universities 
• More than 40 NCI-designated and comprehensive cancer systems
• More than 1,200 health systems, hospitals, and physician organizations

It will take hundreds of us working together with a unified, singular purpose to achieve this vision. We will share more information about the engagement process and the steps we will take to reach our goal. But rest assured, input from leadership, faculty, and staff at each campus will be sought and valued throughout the process. 

The Scholarship First Agenda puts a focus on LSU’s five key research areas: Agriculture, Biomedicine, Coast, Defense and Cybersecurity, and Energy. What LSU is doing in these five areas is groundbreaking and has global impact. This plan will build on that effort, inclusive of LSU’s top educational programs in engineering, business and internal audit, landscape architecture, law, and many more.