Letter: Who Pays?

In the article "Congress Readies Proposal To Cap NIH Grantees' Salaries" (The Scientist, Nov. 27, 1989, page 3), I am quoted as saying, "it is foolish to think that universities have extra money to spend on the salaries of their research faculties." I am not disputing the quote, but rather the context, especially in light of the debate about universities' "responsibility" for research (as elaborated by Martin Frank of the American Physiological Society). It is in fact a central mission of unive

Written byCarol Scheman
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In the article "Congress Readies Proposal To Cap NIH Grantees' Salaries" (The Scientist, Nov. 27, 1989, page 3), I am quoted as saying, "it is foolish to think that universities have extra money to spend on the salaries of their research faculties." I am not disputing the quote, but rather the context, especially in light of the debate about universities' "responsibility" for research (as elaborated by Martin Frank of the American Physiological Society). It is in fact a central mission of universities to conduct research and it certainly is the responsibility of universities to pay the salaries of their faculty. This is not the issue. What is under debate is the portion of salaries allocated to that portion of university research that is federally sponsored research. Universities have expanded their faculty and staff markedly in response to federal expectations that research would be conducted within universities and expanded opportunities for ...

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