West Virginia University is among the top universities in a global ranking of regional science research, demonstrating the institution’s prominence in the field.
A recent study published by Oklahoma State University places WVU’s Regional Research Institute, or RRI, as second nationally and sixth globally in terms of regional science research productivity.
The rankings are based on the number of articles published in the top 10 core regional science journals between 2010 and 2014. During that time period, RRI published 34 articles.
WVU ranks higher than Arizona State University, UCLA, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Oklahoma State University, Cornell University, Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.
“I am proud of this ranking because it demonstrates how RRI has helped WVU strengthen its visibility and reputation among faculty and potential graduate students as an internationally recognized center of excellence in regional science research,” said Randall Jackson, director of RRI.
Regional science is defined by the nexus of economics, geography and planning. At RRI, research extends across a broad swath of disciplines. Faculty researchers from 21 departments and five colleges conduct and promote interdisciplinary research on the economic and social development of lagging regions.
Through theories and the history of regional development, researchers focus on methods for studying regions and policies for stimulating their development. Their work spans the Appalachian region and beyond.
For example, with support from the National Energy Technology Laboratory, RRI researchers have developed an economic model that can be used to estimate the economic and employment impacts of alternative energy policies, energy technology development, deployment and operation.
Other RRI research underway with the support of the USDA NIFA program is examining the economic implications for rural regions of introducing woody biomass processing for fuel production.
RRI researchers have played prominent roles in the University, where six have been named Benedum Chairs or Benedum Distinguished Scholars, and in the field of regional science, seven have been Southern Regional Science Association presidents and four have been named SRSA distinguished fellows.
An external review of the institute showed that no other research group in the area has been so attentive to the dissemination of new knowledge that they have produced, and that doubtless thousands of regional researchers worldwide use RRI as a resource and as an entry point for conducting regional research.
This year, RRI celebrates its 50th anniversary, continuing a tradition of regional research excellence.
“We know that many decisions to accept appointments at WVU have been heavily influence by the RRI’s stature and its community of on-campus scholars, and a great many student job prospects and career paths have been enhanced by their RRI ties,” said Jackson.
RRI brings together faculty and students with regional and spatial analytical interests to engage in interdisciplinary research. More than two dozen WVU faculty specialize and offer more than 30 courses in spatial statistics, spatial econometrics, regional economic analysis and related research topics. Virtually all of the contributing publications were authored by RRI faculty, faculty research associates and graduate research assistants.
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CONTACT: Randy Jackson; West Virginia University Regional Research Institute
304.293.8734; Randall.Jackson@mail.wvu.edu
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