
Purdue University Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships Theresa Mayer testified last week on the effects of the pandemic on research projects and personnel at the university.
(Image credit – Mark Simons / Purdue University)
Purdue University Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships Theresa Mayer testified last week on the effects of the pandemic on research projects and personnel at the university.
(Image credit – Mark Simons / Purdue University)
Representatives from universities in four states briefed
In her opening statement
Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) asserted
Theresa Mayer, executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University, described
Mayer emphasized that projects face continuing losses. “We expect that researchers will experience ongoing decreased productivity due to reduced capacity and modified operations of the lab, ongoing travel restrictions, absences due to illness, quarantine, gaps in childcare in school, and many other factors — what we call our new ‘pandemic normal,’
Joseph Walsh, interim vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System, expressed concern about impacts on early-career researchers and women who have disproportionate childcare responsibilities. He cited a recent study
Walsh also observed that research facilities supported by user fees have been particularly hurt by access restrictions, requiring universities to foot the bill for their continued upkeep. “This is not sustainable, particularly for universities that are already struggling to cover the many other costs associated with the pandemic,” he remarked.
Endorsing the RISE Act, Walsh said, “Without supplemental funding from Congress for relief, federal research agencies will be forced to choose between abandoning new research opportunities of national importance or discontinuing research projects that are not yet completed, thus failing to maximize the return on federal dollars already invested.”
David Stone, vice president for research at Oakland University, a public institution in Stevens’ suburban Detroit district, likewise endorsed the RISE Act while making a case that Congress should provide broader relief to stave off university budget cuts. He reported
“The pandemic has imposed a different set of challenges on Oakland University and other regional universities than just traditional research grant funding,” he said, explaining,
Support for the high-impact practice of undergraduate research, which we know contributes to retention and graduation in STEM and to sustaining the science and engineering workforce pipeline, comes largely from the university’s general fund, which is derived primarily from two sources: tuition and state funding. The pandemic has put both in peril.
Providing a student’s perspective, Ryan Muzzio, a physics doctoral candidate at Carnegie Mellon University, described
Muzzio also attested to the personal strains caused by the pandemic, saying,
Carnegie Mellon students are using the food pantries at astonishing rates. Student parents have experienced the most challenging disruptions and have been forced to juggle their research and teaching responsibilities while parenting full time. International students are in particular in a difficult situation due to travel restrictions. One student lost both their father and grandmother during the pandemic but could not travel home.
He replied that the Carnegie Mellon Graduate Student Assembly supports the bill, which he said would help relieve pressure on researchers whose progress has been slowed due to work restrictions.
The RISE Act currently has 122 Democratic and 10 Republican cosponsors in the House, while the Senate version has three sponsors from each party.
Although the bill would not provide funding directly, it would recommend that Congress distribute recovery funds across a number of agencies, including $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $5 billion for the Department of Energy, $3 billion each for the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense, $2 billion for NASA, and $650 million for the Commerce Department.
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved an amended version
As the spending targets in the legislation are non-binding, the sponsors hope that advancing the legislation will help build support for including research relief in Congress’ next pandemic response package. To date, no proposal
In general, the House and Senate have for months been far apart on their goals for such a package, with Republicans aiming to keep its scope limited. On Wednesday, though, President Trump complicated