The Gathering Storm: American Research and Education

1
The Gathering Storm American Research and
Education

• Robert E. Barnhill
• Vice Chancellor
• Research Technology Transfer
• February 2, 2006

Presentation was given at the Minority Serving
Institutions Research Partnerships Conference,
held at the University of Texas at Pan American
on February 2, 2006.
2
A Challenge for Everyone

• Men are often capable of greater things than
  they perform. They are sent into the world with
  bills of credit and seldom draw to their full
  extent.
• -Horace Walpole

3
Can American Research Continue Its Pre-eminence?

• Federal support
• Inclusion of minorities
• State support
• University (re)organization
• What is the current situation?
• What can we do about it?

4
Federal Support of Research

• Tax cuts and wars
• less money for all discretionary spending,
  including research?flat budgets for research
• More focus on applied research
• Post 9/11 RD such as Homeland Security
• Unfunded mandates (compliance)
• Post 9/11 restrictions (export controls, visas,)

5
Why Support Research?

• Leon Lederman, Director Emeritus, Fermilab and
  1998 Nobel Laureate in Physics
• Support of basic research offers a double-whammy
  of a solid payback to the Treasury of between 30
  and 60 per year (after a waiting period of 5 and
  10 years), as well as an array of new knowledge
  and technologies that create wealth, add to human
  health and longevity, and help fulfill human
  potential.
• The combination of education and research may be
  the most powerful capability the nation can
  nurture in times of stress and uncertainty.

6
Why Support Research?

• Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security to
  2025
• warned that our failure to invest in science
  and to
• reform math and science education was the second
  biggest
• threat to our national security---with only the
  threat of a
• weapon of mass destruction in an American city
  to be of
• greater danger
• unanimously concluded that the danger from under-
  
• investing in math and science and failing to
  reform U.S. math
• and science education was greater than the
  danger from any
• conceivable conventional war. This is important
  from K-12
• schooling to undergraduate education, graduate
  and lifetime
• learning.

7
Historical PerspectiveRD Balance Includes
Setting Priorities(obligations, in 1996 constant
dollars)
Source National Science Foundation
8
Rising Above the Gathering Storm

• National Academies Report, 2005
• Recommendation for action in 4 areas
• 1. K-12 science mathematics
• 2. Science engineering research
• 3. S E higher education
• 4. Innovation investment environment

9
Gathering Storm, continued

• K-12
• Recruit more teachers into S E.
• Research
• Increase federal funding by 10 annually, create
  a Dept. of Energy DARPA,
• Higher education
• Increase the number of US citizens in STEM, esp.
  in areas of national need.
• Innovation
• Protect intellectual property rights, encourage
  US-based innovation.

10
U.S. Senate Support For STEM

• PRESS RELEASE Wednesday, January 25,
  2006Source Senator Hutchison
• Increases investment in the fields of science,
  math and engineering
• WASHINGTON Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
  (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate
• Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Space,
  today cosponsored the
• Protecting America's Competitive Advantage
  (PACE) Act to address America's
• competitiveness in the fields of science, math
  and engineering.  A strong
• proponent of increased investment in research
  and education, particularly in
• science and engineering, Sen. Hutchison joined
  Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM),
• Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
  and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) in
• introducing legislation to improve our nation's
  deteriorating competitive advantage
• in these areas. 
• America's continued leadership in scientific
  research and education is critical to
• the future of our economic and national
  security," Sen. Hutchison said.  "We
• currently face the risk of forfeiting our
  dominance in research and development
• Congress must devote increased resources to
  enhance education in the hard
• sciences and develop the next generation of
  scientists to develop technological
• advancements."

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Federal Support Action Steps

• Work closely with your federal delegation to
  support the budgets of the NSF and NIH, and the
  research components of other federal agencies.
• National interest
• University graduates in STEM
• High-tech economic development in your state
• Prestige for your state

12
High-tech Workforce Issues

• International students in STEM
• Post 9/11 situation now and in the future
• American citizen students in STEM
• Underrepresented groups
• Very difficult problem, solvable only with
  skilled leadership and substantial resources
• Mentoring, cultural sensitivity essential

13
Under-represented Minorities

• Train our own citizens in STEM
• DoD report on social representation in US
  military for FY 99 African American and American
  Indian serve at 50 more than Anglo population.
  These groups are over-represented!
• Minorities form 30 of American population, 39
  of US Army, 45 enlisted force.

14
Under-represented Minorities in STEM Action Steps

• K-12 level
• Collaboration between Schools of Education,
  scientists engineers, cultural social
  scientists
• Programmatic content, teaching techniques
• Undergraduate research experiences
• Examples KU/Haskell partnership, AISTEC
• SACNAS (Marigold Linton, President)
• Graduate training (national need)
• More generally Make STEM careers more attractive.

15
HBCUs, HSIs, Tribal Colleges

• Highest level data
• 104 Historically Black Colleges and
• Universities in 22 states
• 193 Hispanic Serving Institutions in 12
• states
• 36 Tribal Colleges in 15 states
• including DC as a state
• including DC and Puerto Rico as states

16
Hispanic Serving Institutions by State

• California 54 institutions
• Texas 35 institutions
• Definition To be considered a Hispanic-Serving
  Institution, the
• Hispanic enrollment at a college or
  university must be at
• least 25 percent of the total student
  enrollment. For the
• most up to date list, please visit the
  Hispanic
• Associations Colleges and Universities web
  site at
• www.hacu.net.

17
Texas Hispanics degree data

• AUSTIN, Texas - A record number of Hispanics
  earned degrees and certificates at Texas colleges
  and universities in 2005, according to the Texas
  Higher Education Coordinating Board.
• The board reported that the number of Hispanics
  completing undergraduate degree and certificate
  programs increased 47 percent during the past
  five years - from 21,087 in the fall 2000 to
  31,091 in the fall 2005.
• Houston Chronicle January 27, 2006

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State Support of Research

• State support of public universities is flat.
• Universities can and should control what they can
  earn and be freed from many state regulations.
• Universities should properly portray their
  contributions to state economic development.
• Graduates as the best form of tech transfer
• One metric next slide

19
Kansas Jobs Created by KU Research
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Economic value of college degree

• College degree adds 1 million to lifetime
  earning potential.
• Equals a rate of return at 12 annually.
• Compare stock market at 7 annually.
• A slide particularly for parents
• Arizona State University study

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Area Needs More College Grads to Fill Jobs.

• By L.M. SIXEL Jan. 25, 2006, 813PMHouston
  Chronicle
• ECONOMIC development isn't just about creating
  good, high-paying jobs.
• It's also having enough people with the right
  skills and education to fill those jobs.
• And right now, it doesn't look as if the Houston
  region has enough people with bachelor's degrees
  and beyond to meet current demand, let alone what
  might be needed in the future.

22
State Support Action Steps

• Targeted requests for major research facilities
  personnel related to commercialization
  possibilities
• Examples
• Kansas Biotechnology Bond
• Texas Emerging Technology Fund
• Economic development for
• The state
• The university community
• Technology transfer (Arjun Sanga)

23
University Support Action Steps

• Recognize and reward interdisciplinary
  team-oriented research as the norm.
• How to organize for collaborative research?
• Research centers, not departments
• Implications for Academic Affairs/Research
• Fix the current tenure/reward system.
• Research/education a false dichotomy
• Undergraduate research experiences
• Graduate training

24
Institutional Leadership

• Institutional research competitiveness
  requires leadership at every level of the
  university.
• American Association for the Advancement of
  Science (AAAS) Research Competitiveness Meeting,
  1995

25
Research Collaborations

• Key Elements for Collaboration
• Trust
• Winning
• Vision
• Strategic Planning
• Strategic Intent
• Innovative Thinking
• Tipping Point
• Collegiality

26
Campus Research Administration

• Faculty-oriented like water downhill
• Mentors for successful grant writing
• ASU, KU training programs for research admin. in
  depts and centers
• Originally based on UCLA model
• Research centers

27
Designated Center Criteria

• Interdisciplinary research focus
• World class
• Invited to all the right meetings
• 5 million/year (10 million as a near term
  target) or equivalent stature in field
• Prestige (publications, presentations, etc.)
• You know you are in a center
• Significant return on investment
• Ties to academic units
• Benefit to researchers

28
Metrics for Research Centers

• One of several KU models (next slide)

29
Return on Investment (FY01) Based on Federal
Science and Engineering Expenditures
Low
Medium
High
Exceptional
Center 1 Center 2
Center 3
Center 3
5.0
Return on Investment
Acceptable
Center 5
Center 4
3.0
Center 6 Center 8
Marginal
Center 7
1.0
Center 9 Center 11 Center 12
Poor
Center 10
0.0
0.5
1.5
3.0
Total Investment (Budget Allocation) (s in
Millions)
Exempted from reductions because of excellent
qualitative results.
Dr. Robert E. Barnhill February 2, 2006
The University of Texas System
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KU Research

• What were some outcomes from instituting these
  ideas and processes, compared to national norms?
• Barnhills Law Use national metrics only!

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Growth of Sponsored Project Research Expenditures
in Centers at KU Lawrence Campus
32
Relative Growth in Federal SE Research
Expenditures University of Kansas Compared to
All U.S. Universities
33
Federally Financed Science Engineering Research
Expenditures at KU Lawrence
34
University Opportunities for Research Growth
Closing Thoughts

• Research competitiveness requires leadership at
  every level.
• Competitiveness in Academic Research, A. Teich,
  editor, AAAS, 1996
• Use your natural advantages.
• Strategic planning
• Strategic intent
• Clark Kerrs illuminating phrase

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Closing Statement

• Without vision, the people perish.
• Proverbs

36
Office of Research Technology
Transfer www.utsystem.edu/rtt
Nine Universities. Six Health Institutions.
Unlimited Possibilities.
37
Orchestrating Leadership

• When you go before an orchestra, you need
  to have a clear idea in your mind - a sound image
  - of what you are trying to achieveIf your
  imagination is clear, then you will communicate
  with the orchestra even if your beat and
  technique are not first-rateI learned that they
  generally played below the level they were
  capable of achieving, and that they were happier
  when I made them play at their highest level. A
  sense of accomplishment is the best gift that any
  conductor can bestow on an orchestra.
• Sir George Solti