NAU president joins call for federal recommitment to academic research

NAU President John Haeger has joined 164 college and university leaders in asking President Obama and members of Congress to recommit to federally funded science and engineering research and close the “innovation deficit.”

The coalition of higher education leaders expressed concern over cuts to federal investments in research and higher education at a time when other nations are pouring resources into these areas.

The letter, co-signed by Haeger and his colleagues at the Association of American Universities and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, outlines the ripple effects of reduced federal research funding and urges “sustained strategic federal investments in research and student financial aid to close the innovation deficit and bolster our nation’s economic and national security for decades to come.”

The letter appeared in Politico on Wednesday, July 31.

According to a fact sheet prepared by the AAU and APLU, Asian nations—particularly China and South Korea—are far outpacing the United States in government R&D expenditures, the number of science and engineering graduates and other markers of scientific and technological leadership.

The full text of the letter is online.