Before taking the oath of office this month, then-President-elect Obama received a letter urging him to increase scientific research funding as part of his proposed economic stimulus package. The letter was endorsed by President Ruth Simmons and the heads of 18 other universities, as well as a host of other scientific leaders.
"Institutions of higher education offer the promise of opportunity through education, innovation and advancements in knowledge, particularly during the most challenging of economic times," Simmons said in a statement issued through a spokesperson. "It is therefore, essential, that any stimulus package include funds to support these activities, from increased student aid to robust investments in university based science research."
According to the signatories, funding for research is an "ideal economic stimulus" because it creates jobs, can be spent immediately and represents an investment in the national infrastructure, which is vital to the country's future.
"While some might argue that the current economic crisis should push such plans into the future," the letter states, "we believe, to the contrary, that the stimulus package provides a vital opportunity to begin rebuilding American science."
The letter-writing effort was led by Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel, professor of physiology and psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, according to a Columbia press release.
The writers claim the "health and vitality of the American scientific enterprise is seriously threatened," as federal funding for non-defense research has fallen every year since 2004.
"I think it's very important that Brown and President Simmons be advocating for this increased funding for research because it's something very important for our country," Vice President for Research Clyde Briant said.
According to Briant, if the stimulus packaged were to include increased funding for science, government agencies would augment support for research institutions, which could, in turn, lead to more jobs.
"Brown will have to compete to get those funds, but if we win the competition, so to speak, sponsored research funding will come in here, and from that we can begin to create jobs locally," Briant said.
The letter's signatories claim that the National Institutes of Health could spend up to $5 billion immediately on approved but unfunded proposals from 2008, as well as another $5 billion to maintain higher funding rates in 2009.
"It is our belief that such an investment is not only critical to the long-term health of our economy," said Columbia President Lee Bollinger in the press release, "it will ensure that America remains at the forefront of scientific research."
