April 20, 2009 — In a message sent today to faculty and staff, President John T. Casteen III reports that the University of Virginia is working to obtain a share of the $787 billion authorized in the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In an e-mail sent today, Casteen reported that a University-wide committee of administrators and faculty has been meeting since mid-February to prioritize and vet proposals for both infrastructure projects and competitive research.

"We continue to encourage faculty members to prepare proposals for submission and to pursue funding opportunities aggressively," he wrote. "The funds are out there. As of Friday, in fact, we had submitted more than $10 million in competitive grant proposals to federal agencies."

The president's full message is posted on the Budget Impact/Federal Stimulus Web site. An accompanying Q&A provides further details.

Anyone with questions about the stimulus funds or the process for obtaining them is encouraged to submit them to UVA Today.