The Arkansas Research Alliance has recognized six new research fellows, with five of them receiving a $75,000 grant from the state. The ARA fellows program recognizes research leaders who are working at one of Arkansas’s five research campuses.
Those campuses are: University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Arkansas State University. The alliance also recognized a researcher at the National Center for Toxicological Research, but since that institution is national, it does not receive a grant.
During an announcement of the fellows on Thursday, Jerry Adams, president of Arkansas Research Alliance, says the organization keeps in touch with the fellows throughout the year to check on their progress.
“We meet with these scholars and fellows probably quarterly or two or three times a year to really understand what we can do to help,” Adams said. “Sometimes it’s a connection with an Arkansas corporation. Sometimes it’s a connection with other researchers and our goal is to really do all we can to help facilitate their success in Arkansas.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who was at Thursday’s announcement, said in a later interview that the state sets aside funding for the fellows annually.
“These grants today are through state funding, so we contribute about a million dollars a year just from state funding for specialized research programs in the institution,” Hutchinson said.