ORAU welcomes four new universities as sponsoring institutions

Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently welcomed The City College of New York, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Temple University, and University of Colorado at Boulder as its newest sponsoring institutions. They were welcomed during the 69th annual meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions, held in Oak Ridge. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center upgraded its membership to sponsoring institution.

“We’re honored to have these four institutions join our growing university consortium,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page. “The research and education capabilities of these universities strengthen the value of our consortium.”

ORAU has 114 members in more than 31 states ranging from Florida to Idaho and Pennsylvania to Nevada, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and England. According to the National Science Foundation Federal R&D Expenditures rankings, 44 ORAU member institutions are in the Top 100 universities. ORAU was formed 67 years ago under the auspices of the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies and originally consisted of 14 southern schools.

Sponsoring Institutions

An ORAU sponsoring institution is a nonprofit institution of higher learning granting doctoral degrees in multiple science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields, and it ranks among the nation’s top research universities.

The City College of New York, the flagship college of The City University of New York, is a comprehensive teaching, research, and service institution. Requiring demonstrated potential for admission and a high level of accomplishment for graduation, the college provides a diverse student body with opportunities to achieve academically, creatively, and professionally in the liberal arts and sciences and in professional fields. As a public university with public purposes, it also seeks to contribute to the cultural, social, and economic life of New York. The College strives for excellence in its wide-ranging undergraduate and masters programs (including programs in the only public schools of engineering, architecture, and biomedical education in the city) and in its 13 on-site CUNY doctoral programs—all of which are designed to prepare students for successful careers as well as for continuing graduate and post-graduate education.

Illinois Institute of Technology is a national, technological, Ph.D.-granting research university, with world-renowned programs in engineering, architecture, the sciences, humanities, psychology, business, law, and design. Founded in 1940 and tracing its roots back to the 1890s with the foundings of Armour Institute of Technology and Lewis Institute, IIT brings a focused, interdisciplinary approach to education, including the Interprofessional Projects Program. With five campuses throughout the Chicago area and alumni around the world, IIT pairs the educational and cultural experiences of America’s Second City with the small feel of an undergraduate population of just over 2,300 and total population of just over 7,400.

Temple University is an urban public research university with an international reach and has been creating knowledge, improving lives, and engaging the community for over 125 years. Temple’s faculty and broad curriculum of over 300 academic programs provide educational opportunities for talented and motivated students without regard to their status or station in life. That tradition of access and excellence has made Temple’s student body one of the most diverse in the nation. Temple’s Main Campus in Philadelphia is the primary site of more than $500 million in construction and renovation. Benefiting from an increasing number of students eager for an urban university experience, Temple has become an increasingly vibrant center of student life.

University of Colorado—Boulder is the flagship university of the state of Colorado. As one of 34 U.S. public institutions belonging to the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU)—and the only member in the Rocky Mountain region—the University of Colorado Boulder has five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies.

Founded in 1877, the university has strong programs in the sciences, engineering, business, law, arts, humanities, education, music, and many other disciplines.