Despite filing a record number of grant applications, the University of Iowa ended the past fiscal year with $18.9 million less in external funding than a year ago.

UI received $333.9 million in grants and contracts for the fiscal year that ended June 30 despite sending out $596.2 million in requests, school officials said Thursday. That's $32.4 million more in grant applications than a year ago.

National rank • UI ranks 18th among all public universities in federal research-and-development expenditures, according to 2002 National Science Foundation statistics. • UI ranked 11th among all public universities receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health for the fiscal year 2003, which ended June 30, 2003.

At a news conference, school officials said slow replies from agencies and a heightened competition for funds could have caused the dip in how much outside money UI was granted.

"Some funding agencies have been a little slow in awarding funds," said Bill Decker, interim vice president for research.

Competition for funds, he added, is "really way up at all agencies ... and I think that means we have to do a better job of assisting faculty and their approaches to writing proposals."

UI received funding declines from several agencies, including the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, NASA and a slight increase from the Department of Defense, data show.

Funding from the Department of Health and Human Services has increased slightly - $560,346 - since 2001-02. From 2000-01 to 2001-02, that same department granted UI an increase of $46.1 million, data shows. The federal agency, though, continues to grant UI the most funding of any agency, data shows.

Mark Arnold, a UI professor of chemistry, requested funds from the National Institutes of Health three times before being granted support. He received a 3-year grant, totaling $1.3 million, in the latest budget year.

"It's never easy, but you have to be tenacious," Arnold said. "It's kind of a moving target as to how you write (the grant)."

Arnold plans to use his grant to develop an instrument that will measure glucose for people with diabetes.

UI has received more than $1 billion total in the past three fiscal years, dating from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2004, data shows. During the past budget year, the school generated its third highest amount ever, with the most money garnered by the College of Medicine at $184.5 million.

Of the 1,512 people who received external support from the past budget year, 67 people were awarded $1 million or more, data shows. Topping the list was Michael Apicella, a professor in the department of microbiology, who was granted $7.4 million. He was out of town Thursday and did not return phone calls.

School officials say they realize that funding might "level off" for a few years. Departments, such as NIH, could not sustain roughly 20 percent increases each year, said Derek Willard, associate vice president for research.

However, data show several UI colleges have received an increase in the amount of federal support granted. The colleges of medicine, public health and dentistry each received between 2 and 4 percent increases. The College of Education received a 13.8 percent increase and the Graduate College received an increase of 89 percent.