Imagine a world where American research universities lag behind those in other nations, can no longer be counted upon to make major new scientific discoveries and, as a consequence, money flows to businesses in Bangalore or Beijing that capitalize on their universities’ breakthroughs.
Such a future isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem, according to an opinion piece titled “Major threats to our research universities” by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) and Hunter Rawlings III, president of the Association of American Universities, that ran Dec. 16 on the online news site Politico. In the article, the two argue that this is a very real threat posed by shrinking state education funds, ballooning federal regulations and the looming fiscal cliff.
“Research is our secret weapon, our edge in an increasingly competitive world economy,” they write. “Our universities, especially our 200 research universities, along with our national laboratories and private-sector research, constitute the greatest force for innovation in the world. Without this research, the U.S. could not possibly produce nearly 25 percent of all the wealth in the world each year.”
Alexander and Rawlings argue that there are three basic steps the nation needs to take to prevent such an academic apocalypse:
- Washington must substantially shrink the national debt so that it can afford to double federal funding for advanced research.
- State legislatures and Congress must reduce the regulations and mandates that are reducing universities’ productivity.
- Universities must look for ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality by adopting measures such as improving energy efficiency, offering three-year degrees and embracing innovative teaching methods to improve learning.