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1
Prologue
Innovation is the strong driver of economic growth, new industries
and jobs, and a high standard of living, both in the United States and
globally. In the last half-century, innovation in turn has been increasingly
driven by educated people and the knowledge they produce, particularly
though scientific and technological research and development. In the
United States, the primary source of the new knowledge and talented
individuals who apply it to achieve our security, health, prosperity, and
other national goals continues to be the basic research and graduate edu-
cation programs of our nation’s research universities.
America’s research universities, with the strong and sustained sup-
port of government and working in partnership with American industry
and philanthropy, are widely recognized as the best in the world, admired
for both their research and their education. They are, however, confronted
by many forces: the economic challenges faced by the nation and the
states, the emergence of global competitors, changing demographics, and
rapidly evolving technologies. Even as other nations around the world
have emulated the United States in building research universities, Amer-
ica’s commitment to sustaining the research partnership that has helped
power our economy has weakened.
Federal policies no longer place a priority on university research and
graduate education; because of economic challenges and the priorities of
aging populations, states no longer are either capable of supporting or
willing to support their public research universities at world-class levels;
business and industry have largely dismantled the large corporate re-
search laboratories that drove American industrial leadership in the twen-
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24 RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
tieth century (e.g., Bell Labs), but have not yet fully partnered with our
research universities to fill the gap; and research universities themselves
have failed to achieve the cost efficiency and productivity enhancement
in teaching and research required of an increasingly competitive world.
Yet a time of crisis can also stimulate a call to action. We have reached
a fork in the road at which critical decisions about the future of Ameri-
can higher education must be made. The actions we take in the next few
years will determine whether our children and grandchildren will have
well-paying jobs and whether our nation will continue to have a vibrant
economy, and a healthy and secure populace. It is essential that, at this
fork, we as a nation take the path that reaffirms, revitalizes, and strength-
ens substantially the unique partnership that has long existed among the
nation’s research universities, the federal government, the states, and
business and industry.
At this time in history, the United States faces a range of important
challenges: economic recovery and growth, budget deficits, unemploy-
ment, security challenges, and spiraling health care costs. These issues
must be addressed. Yet the United States can also utilize and leverage a
range of extraordinary assets that will allow us to create our own destiny
in the 21st century. Among those assets are our nation’s research univer-
sities, which can help us address our short-term challenges even as they
create new opportunities. The United States can best leverage research
universities for the breakthroughs it needs for the high-end jobs, increas-
ing middle-class incomes, and the security, health, and prosperity we
expect, by ensuring these institutions are properly resourced; increasingly
productive, agile, and innovative; and working creatively in partnership
with business.
