Coalitions of Businesses and Nonprofits Urge Lawmakers to Support NSF Funding
Last week, two state and national coalitions of businesses and nonprofits, including institutions of higher education, sent letters to lawmakers asking them to support robust funding for the National Science Foundation in the FY25 federal budget. In Illinois, 59 businesses and nonprofits – including Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – sent a letter to members of the state’s congressional delegation asking them to advocate for increased funding for the NSF. Multinational companies such as Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP joined the United States Chamber of Commerce in sending another letter making a similar request to leaders in the House and the Senate.
The letters focused on the integral role the NSF plays in driving innovation in the United States and in creating an educated STEM workforce. The Illinois coalition, for example, highlighted how the state of Illinois has benefited from NSF funding, including through investments of more than $356 million from the agency “for research, entrepreneurship and STEM education.” It noted how NSF has especially provided seed funding and “vital support for small businesses and startups” in Illinois through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
Both letters noted that Congress made cuts to NSF funding in FY24 and failed to meet its obligations under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which called for doubling the agency’s budget by FY27. AAU President Barbara R. Snyder has expressed similar concerns about the budget cuts. “Increased funding for the NSF represents a strategic investment in America’s future,” the industry letter noted, continuing: “By bolstering the resources available to the agency, we can drive innovation, create new industries and jobs, and maintain our nation’s standing as a global leader in science and technology.”
FEATURED RESOURCE: Fund American Science
AAU Institutions Top List of U.S. Universities Granted Patents in 2023
Last week, the National Academy of Inventors released its annual list of the top 100 universities granted utility patents in the United States. In 2023, the University of California system topped the list with 546 patents; eight of the 10 campuses in the UC system are AAU members.
The other nine universities in the top 10 are all AAU members, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Texas System, which includes AAU member campus the University of Texas at Austin; Purdue University; Stanford University; Harvard University; Arizona State University; the California Institute of Technology; Johns Hopkins University; and the University of Florida. The list highlights the crucial role university research plays in developing breakthrough technologies and innovating for the future.
“The Top 100 U.S. Universities list allows us to recognize and celebrate universities and their faculty, staff, and students who are not only innovating at high levels, but taking the additional step of protecting their IP [intellectual property] through patenting,” said National Academy of Inventors President Paul R. Sanberg. According to Forbes, utility patents cover “the creation of a new or improved product, process, or machine.” The NAI rankings are based on data provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Department of Education Announces Full-Scale Review of Federal Student Aid Office
The Department of Education announced that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is taking “comprehensive steps” to improve and modernize the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). These steps include searching for a new chief operating officer for FSA; “conducting a full-scale review” of FSA’s operations and procedures; and hiring an independent consulting firm to make recommendations on improving the agency. In a letter to department staff, Cardona noted that “changes are needed to make sure students, borrowers, and families have a better user experience with FSA.”
The FSA is responsible for managing federal student financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. FSA’s current COO Richard Cordray announced in April that he’s stepping down at the end of June amid criticism of the office’s handling of the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
AAU Is Hiring – Apply Now!
AAU is currently seeking two Government Relations and Public Policy (GRPP) assistants. The Washington-based positions will provide administrative and project-management support to multiple members of the GRPP department and their respective portfolios. Responsibilities will include not only executive assistant duties such as screening inquiries; calendar and travel coordination; database management; and reconciling business expenses, but also opportunities to track legislative developments; summarize hearings; draft, edit, and proofread advocacy materials and presentations; and upload content to AAU’s website.
AAU is also hiring an executive assistant to provide administrative support to the president and chief of staff. Responsibilities include serving as the front-line contact to screen and handle high-level inquiries; calendar and email management; travel coordination; meeting preparation and follow-up; project support, budget tracking and expense reconciliation; and research and writing support.
News of Interest
AP News: Yale University Names Maurie McInnis as Its 24th President – Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis has been named the next president of Yale University. McInnis will succeed Peter Salovey, who is retiring at the end of the month. She will be the “first woman to be appointed permanently to the position.”
Inside Higher Ed: House Republicans Threaten Colleges’ Federal Funding with New Investigations – Republican chairs of six House committees sent letters to 10 universities announcing their intention to conduct oversight into the universities’ use of federal funds as part of their investigation into campus antisemitism. The letters did not offer specific areas of investigation but noted that the committees have wide jurisdiction over a range of matters, including the awarding of federal student aid; tax exemptions; and the funding universities receive from federal grant-awarding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Forbes: University of Michigan Retirement Study Receives Record $195 Million Grant – A $195 million grant from the National Institute of Aging and the Social Security Administration will allow the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research to extend a landmark study on aging for another five years. The university’s Health and Retirement Study began in 1990 and has provided data that researchers from around the world have used “to answer questions about the challenges and opportunities of aging.” The award is the largest in the university’s history.
Higher Ed Dive: Working-Age Adult Population with Some College But No Credential Jumps 2.9%, Report Finds – New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that “the population of U.S. adults under age 65 with some college but no credential reached 36.8 million by July 2022, up 2.9% compared to the year before.” The data also showed that almost a million adults who had previously dropped out of college reenrolled in the 2022-23 academic year; a majority returned to colleges they had not previously enrolled in and more than a fifth reenrolled in a primarily online institution.
CBS News: University of Pennsylvania Scientists Working on New Bird Flu Vaccine Amid Growing Concerns Over Virus Mutation – Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are using mRNA technology to develop a vaccine for bird flu. The virus is circulating widely among birds and cows and recently infected three dairy workers, one of whom experienced respiratory symptoms as a result. The vaccine is “following the same pipeline that led to the quick development of the COVID vaccine.”
The New York Times: PTSD Has Surged Among College Students – According to a new study, prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among college students rose from 3.4% in 2017 to 7.5% in 2022. The researchers “attributed the rise to ‘broader societal stressors’ on college students, such as campus shootings, social unrest and the sudden loss of loved ones from the coronavirus.”
Inside Higher Ed: National Science Foundation Expands Mentoring Requirements to Bolster STEM Pipeline – In an effort to help more STEM graduate students transition to the workforce, the National Science Foundation is now “requiring all grant applicants to submit a mentoring plan for graduate students.” According to the NSF, activities that could count as mentoring include “career counseling; training in preparation of grant proposals, publications and presentations;” and “training in responsible professional practices.”
Featured Research
As a Busy Hurricane Season Looms, New Forecast Model in the Eye
Researchers at the University of Miami have worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a new model to predict the number and intensity of hurricanes in the Atlantic. The Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System is being made “one of NOAA’s official hurricane forecast models” this summer and “uses several techniques to improve forecasts above prior models.”
Discrimination May Accelerate Aging
A new study led by researchers at the New York University School of Global Public Health finds that discrimination could hasten the biological process of aging at the molecular level and that people who experience discrimination “are at increased risk for a range of health issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression.” According to the research, “chronic activation of the body’s stress response is a likely contributor.”
Stat of the Week
AAU members invest heavily in research and development that creates jobs, helps develop an educated workforce, and drives innovation that makes our nation healthier, wealthier, and stronger. In 2022, institutional contributions from AAU members to R&D reached $12.3 billion. Institutional contributions help support researchers as well as cover the indirect costs of doing research, including the maintenance of high-tech laboratories and research facilities; utilities; information technology and internet services; and more.