Maryland’s 13 public higher education institutions collected nearly $1 billion in private, federal and state research grants in fiscal 2006, the University System of Maryland announced Monday.

“Success breeds success. The more research money you attract, the more you are seen from year to year as a great place to give [research funding to],” said John Buettner, spokesman for the University System of Maryland.

The $975.9 million collected supported scientific and medical research, academic scholarship and public-service projects, Buettner said. The amount raised was slightly less than the university’s all-time high, $983.8 million in fiscal 2005.

“From year to year, the system is competing on a national and international level; it’s an extremely competitive market,” Buettner said.

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However, the overall trend pattern has been positive. The amount of research funding that University System of Maryland receives annually has risen 25 percent over the past five years, from $783.7 in fiscal 2001.

USM’s research-oriented institutions — the University of Maryland, College Park; the University Maryland, Baltimore; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County — generated the majority of the grant money received, accounting for more than $870 million of the total fiscal 2006 funding, Buettner said.

But comprehensive undergraduate institutions — such as Bowie State University, Frostburg State University and Towson University —made strides in fiscal 2006, with Frostburg State University doubling its research endowment last year.

“The fact that our comprehensive universities are becoming more competitive is an indicator of success and competitiveness,” Buettner said.

University System of Maryland Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan has said maintaining cutting-edge research institutions is imperative to a high-quality university system and an educated work force.

“[Research] has become such an essential feature of economic success in today's work force,” Kirwan told The Examiner in a previous interview. “In fact, no less a person than Bill Gates told the National Governor’s Association that there is no example of a vibrant economic region that doesn’t have a great research university at its center,” Kirwan said.

mmcilroy@baltimoreexaminer.com