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Faculty fears for research funding under Trump
Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Associated Press
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As the country ushers in a new presidential administration, some of the University's faculty and administrators are worried that research funding — already trending down — will continue to be cut.
Jim Tracy, vice chancellor of research at the University, said research funding was down by 2 percent in the last fiscal year. The University receives its funding from state and federal sources. A continued decrease in funding could lead to less advanced equipment in the classroom, less experienced professors and could hurt the marketability of degrees.
Tracy said that in the last fiscal year, a total of about $198 million was generated for research and about 75 percent of total research funding came from the state and federal governments. If state funding for research decreases, the University will have less funding to provide cutting-edge equipment for faculty to compete for federal grants and funding, affecting the total amount of funding for the future.
"I believe that students get a better education at research universities because faculty are bringing in the newest information and the newest ways of thinking into the classroom," Tracy said. "In my experience, the
best researchers are often the best teachers that you have."
"If our scholarly programs slip in international ranking, we may fall off that ... list," he said. "That does not bode well for the marketability for the degrees of our students."
Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, president of the Kansas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, said cuts could also impact the University's ability to have over 6,000 graduate research assistant positions. That, he said, would lead to less experienced professors in the classroom and less
As research funds continue to deplete, faculty will not be able to publish their best work through scholarly programs. If that were to continue, Barrett-Gonzalez speculates that the University could lose its membership within the Association of American
Barrett-Gonzalez said he is worried that research funding is already at
information from new research. Barrett-Gonzalez also said it would toll on the international reputation of the University.
Universities, of which the University is the only member in the state of Kansas.
Barrett-Gonzalez and Tracy said they are worried about how the new presidential administration will handle higher education. President
risk because the state is borrowing funds from the Kansas Department of Transportation fund.
"If we, as the state, are having to borrow just to pay our bills, it does not bode well for research dollars," Barrett-Gonzalez said.
Donald Trump's campaign ran against sustainable energy, climate change and the environment, which are major areas of research for the University.
If our scholarly programs slip in international ranking, we may fall off that ... list. That does not bode well for the marketability for the degrees of our students."
Ron Barrett-Gonzalez President, Kansas Conference of the AAU Professors
"We don't know what the new administration in Washington has planned for higher education," Tracy said.
The appointment of Betsy Devos as Secretary of Education is highly controversial amongst administrators, Tracy said. Some don't believe that she has enough experience in higher education to hold the office.
Some areas are less likely to be affected than others. The National Institute of Health's funding, which contributes to a large part of funding for medical research, is not expected to decrease.
- Edited by Omar Sanchez