Despite challenges involving federal research funding, Penn State is in a strong position and continues to make investments to remain a leading research university. At the same time, the University is improving processes to become more efficient and developing contingency plans to adapt to any potential future funding cuts, according to Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read in remarks made to the Penn State community on Feb. 12 during a town hall. The hybrid event drew nearly 1,000 faculty, staff and students from across the University.
Before answering questions, Read explained how the University is navigating the rapidly evolving federal research landscape, specifically complexity regarding funding and international collaborations. During the Q&A, Read responded to questions both submitted in advance and asked in real time by the audience. He addressed inquiries about the budget, unionization and more.
Read framed his remarks around Penn State's goal to re-establish itself as one of the nation's top 15 research universities, according to the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Higher Education and Development (HERD) survey, which uses research expenditures as its primary metric. Penn State is currently ranked 25th, with a record-breaking $1.44 billion in research expenditures last fiscal year.
"It's a brutally competitive business raising research dollars," Read said, noting that Penn State's record research expenditures indicate that "our sponsors have confidence in the research that we're doing, that we're doing it well, and that it makes a difference."
Changes in federal research policies
Last year, Read said, federal grant suspensions and terminations dominated the attention of the research community.
"They have stopped, and we hope the majority of those terminations and suspensions are now done," Read said.
He noted that Congress recently passed appropriations bills that fund research at levels similar to the previous year. This is noteworthy because cuts of up to 60% had been proposed for research-funding agencies, including the NSF and the National Institutes of Health.
Additionally, Read noted that the proposed 15% cap on facilities and administration (F&A) rates at federal agencies has been postponed until at least the end of September. He characterized this temporary reprieve as providing stability in the near-term but said that a 15% F&A rate cap could still occur in the future. Consequently, Read has been leading planning discussions in case Penn State research ever needs to function with the $100 million budgetary cuts that would accompany a 15% rate cap.
Read also explained that beyond government funding and specific caps, continued engagement with industry is critical to the financial health of Penn State's research enterprise and its goal of re-establishing itself as a top 15 research university.
"[Companies'] overhead rates are substantially higher than ours," Read said. "So, we're a bargain for the federal government. We do [the work] much more cheaply than industry would do it for them."
Internal support for research
To reduce administrative burdens on faculty, Read explained that Penn State is improving contract processing and other workflows to streamline the initiation and execution of research. He added that the improvements have already significantly decreased the processing time for certain grants. He said that the rapidly changing laws and federal regulations make the "shifting sands" of this issue difficult.
Recent regulations around international collaborations also have added to the complexity of conducting research, Read said. He encouraged any researcher who has questions to request a research security review. He then concluded his remarks by praising Penn State's federal lobbying and advocacy team.
At the start of the question-and-answer session, Read addressed how research fits into Penn State's Budget Allocation Model. He explained that each college receives an allocation that is spent at the discretion of the dean and may include expenses related to teaching, research and service. In addition, the Graduate Research Incentive Fund provides an allocation to colleges that is proportional to their research activities. This is in addition to the $40 million grant-in-aid distributed among colleges.
Vote on unionization
In response to a question about the potential for faculty unionization, Read expressed concerns that unionization could mean a reduction in the number of faculty conducting research because there is only so much money to go around, and that Penn State is facing funding challenges at the federal level and from national demographic trends. He also noted that, of the top 30 schools in research expenditures in the nation, only one - University of Pittsburgh - has a faculty union.
Primarily, Read urged careful consideration by the faculty.
"I am asking all of you [research-active faculty] to think about this," he said. "Go talk to another faculty member about this, because we can't fail to get engaged in this issue. We need to be involved. This is a very historic moment that will change the face of Penn State for the next century and beyond. You don't need to just hear my views. Do get involved, do think about it, and do vote. Vote informed."
Regarding graduate student unionization, Read emphasized that research and teaching assistants have very different relationships to Penn State. Graduate student education is a priority of everyone at Penn State, according to Read, and he does not think that research assistants have a typical employee relationship with the University.
The Penn State National Security Institute
Asked about the National Security Institute (NSI), Read explained that the NSI matters to Penn State because national security is important for the nation; the NSI may supply a new, stable funding stream to the University; and supporting national security has been "part of Penn State's DNA" since World War II.
In closing, Read noted that a lot of factors are beyond the University's control, including the "demographic cliff" where the U.S. is producing fewer college-age students for the next decade and the unpredictable changes of the federal government.
Still, Read said that Penn State's position is strong.
"I don't know any research university that is under less stress than we are now," Read said. "We are in a better, stronger situation [than many of our peer schools]. I think if we can all manage to work together and keep working together, we will be able to remain strong and grow even more productive."
