Professional Organizations

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities and systems whose members share a learning and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development.

The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), formed in 1989, is an international organization of universities in large metropolitan areas that share common understandings of their institutional missions and values. Institutions located in urban and metropolitan areas often do not fit the model of more traditional colleges and universities, and are presented with unique challenges and opportunities.

The mission of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is to support and promote high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. CUR provides support and professional development opportunities for faculty, staff, administrators, and students.

The National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) supports the efforts of faculty to secure extramural research funding and initiate and nurture critical partnerships throughout the institutional research enterprise, among institutions, and with external stakeholders. With the goal of enabling competitive individual and team research and facilitating research excellence, NORDP develops and shares best practices for attracting and managing research funding, and facilitate building and implementing collaborative services and resources that span across disciplines.

The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) seeks to be the foremost provider of professional development, knowledge, and leadership in the global research administration and research management community. NCURA Global advances the overall NCURA mission by promoting research administration as a career on a worldwide basis.

The Society of Research Administrators International (SRA International) is the premier global research management society providing education, professional development and the latest comprehensive information about research management to over 5,000 members from over 40 countries.

VentureWell, formerly known as the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), is on a mission to cultivate a pipeline of inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs driven to solve the world’s biggest challenges and to create lasting impact. Through collaborating, learning, and sharing of best practices, the VentureWell network strengthens the overall ecosystem and better enables innovators to create real social and environmental impact through invention.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was established by the National Science Foundation in 1960, and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR provides the atmospheric and related Earth system science community with state-of-the-art resources, including supercomputers, research aircraft, sophisticated computer models, and extensive data sets. NCAR is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a nonprofit consortium of more than 115 colleges and universities.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) advances the science and engineering of energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable power technologies, providing the knowledge to integrate and optimize energy systems. From breakthroughs in fundamental science to new clean technologies to integrated energy systems, NREL researchers are transforming the way the nation and the world use energy.