0 OPINION Page 4 Wednesday, April 13, 1983 The Michigan Daily Race for research may bankru By Robert Honigman If one reviews the current literature on scien- tific research in the university, one discovers that there is an economic crisis unrelated to the current recession - a crisis caused by the slowdown and shift in federal support for research over the past decade. Briefly, the research equipment and laboratory facilities of our research universities are not being replaced or updated at an adequate rate. This growing obsolescence is causing a great strain on research universities, and it is expected that there may be a shake-out in university resear- ch, with the first ranked universities getting stronger and the weaker research universities falling behind. The implications for the University of Michigan are that if substantial sums are not spent on renovating and improving the Univer- sity's research equipment and facilities over the next few years, the University could lose its position as one of the leaders in advanced scientific research. Without such facilities it cannot hope to attract first-rate scientists and through them federal research funds. PLANT AND equipment renovation funds have to come from somewhere and the federal government isn't providing them. Federal research support has never really covered all of the overhead costs of research, and most major research universities have covertly sup- ported federal research with tuitions and state funds. This practice has long been rationalized under the familiar axiom: Research enhances teaching. Today, a new axiom is gaining popularity among university scientists and ad- ministrators: Any university can teach, but only a few are first rate scientific research en- terprises. The corollary of this axiom is that an outstanding research university has an obligation to support and preserve its research excellence at all costs. hierarchical authority permit it to do what it wants. So it seems likely that the erosion of the University as a teaching institution in order to preserve and protect its status as a scientific enterprise will be carried out. The problem is that there is a third crisis in scientific research, one that is barely visible but which could ultimately make the reallocation plans of Frye and Shapiro a hollow victory. SCIENTIFIC research has long been a child of the university. Whatever its origins, there is little doubt, that in the American scheme, it has grown to maturity and achieved immense suc- cess within the university. But when a child reaches maturity it often leaves its home and strikes out on its own. There is a great deal of evidence that scientific research has reached this stage of maturity and that the time has perhaps come for it to prepare to leave the university. There is a growing realization that the academic structure of the university is inadequate for the research enterprise. Tenure, for example, has now substantially blocked the opportunities for new and younger sciertists, and is perceived as unmericratic, locking in older personnel into positions of power and influence in rapidly changing and developing fields. Nor are the compartmentalization of disciplines by academic departments and the individual faculty enterpreneurship suited to organized research conducted by multidisciplinary teams. Moreover, large- scale research needs hierarchical leadership and strict allocation of resources. Academic freedom is nice, but in research involving the coordination of a large number of different disciplines using scarce equipment and funds, no one can be allowed to go off on their own. Although the purpose of university research is to produce new knowledge regardless of its use, the public is not interested in subsidizing massive research programs without goals. pt'U There has been in recent years a growing trend to demand mission oriented research strictly accountable for the use of funds and the results achieved, and it is probable that this trend will continue to the point where the vast bulk of federal research will be mission or goal orien- ted with only limited funds left over for pure or undirected research. This kind of research which resembles war-time and industrial research will be large-scale, and although it may and perhaps should be competitive in character, it will largely turn the scientific en- terprise into an instrument of national policy. Thus, the present crisis in the research university may cause institutional leaders to play an obstructionist role, representing tenured scientists of an older generation or younger scientists who - lacking assurance in their own abilities - want their science jobs cushioned by a safety net of a secure teaching job; these leaders may attempt to lobby for the university as a research enterprise that mustn't be neglected or abandoned as if scien- ce were never going to grow up and was always going to be a child of the university. A If one looks at the five year reallocation plan of University President Harold Shapiro and Provost Billy Frye, it becomes apparent that this is not a plan to save money, but rather to reallocate money, from low-priority budget items to high-priority budget items. It is probable that even if the state were not in a financial crisis, this reallocation would have to be accomplished anyway. The budget crisis provides a convenient cloak for what are not cost savings but rather cost reallocations which affect the fundamental character of the University. The problem that Frye and Shapiro face is tha.t they cannot openly admit that they are going to take funds away from the educational side of the University and commit them to the research side of the University without sacrificing a great deal of state support. The state has never been fond of funding the research mission of the University. So the tran- sformation of the University from an educational enterprise to a research enterprise has to be carefully merchandised. A THIRD AXIOM underlies and justifies this reallocation of funds from educational pur- poses to research: "We are doing the right thing because the proof is that we attract the best students, the best faculty and most money to this campus than any other university in the state. Therefore, the state legislature is wrong in failing to recognize and support our research mission." There has never been serious debate within the University that research is more important than teaching - the difficulty has always been persuading the public and students. For- tunately, the University's autonomy and In the end, with the educational function of the research university bankrupted, and the scientific research function of the university slowly sneaking away into large scale research institutes, universities such as the University of Michigan, could be left with nothing. Before we sacrifice too many of the educational functions of the university we ought to rethink and debate to what extent the university should or even can be a research en- terprise. Honigman lawyer. is a University graduate and a 0 Wasserman Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan S IVID 'CVPND~ CGAJNW~I 1WFO Vol. XCIII, No. 153 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Preventing Mideast peace \ 1 vi' ENV \W\NWAU§TS REMIWN o 0NAZIS V1, 66- JORDAN'S DECISION not to partic- ipate in negotiations with Israeli and Palestinian representatives can- not be construed as a failure of President Reagan's peace initiative. The problems which caused Reagan's plan to falter stem from the stubborn nature of both Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Jordan's King Hussein said he would not participate in the negotiations after PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat backed out of a deal with Hussein which could have led to the first big breakthrough toward peace in the Mideast since the Camp David agreements in 1978. Hussein and Arafat had agreed ten- tatively that a group comprised of Jor- danians and Palestinians not affiliated with the PLO would negotiate with Israel to establish a Palestinian state along the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Such a plan almost certainly is doomed to fail as long as the PLO refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist; as long as Israel continues with its rapid settlement expansion plans along the West Bank and in the Gaza; and as long as the PLO's primary con- cern is preserving itself rather than achieving peace or gaining a recognized home for all Palestinians. The PLO should also recognize that it does not represent all Palestinians - a fact made all too apparent in the wake of the assassination of a key PLO moderate by a member of an anti-PLO Palestinian group. A diversified Palestinian input is necessary for viable organizations. The next move is up to the PLO or Israel. Arafat needs to respond politically to developments in the Mideast. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon last year took away a military response. As a result, the flaws in Arafat's ability to respond diplomatically to the perilous situation in the region have been exposed. It remains to be seen whether the PLO is first interested in itself or the Palestinian people. Israel, too, must change its stubborn attitude. Prime Minister Menachem 'Begin can take such a step by stopping construction of the controversial set- tlements and byshowing the same type of willingness to negotiate for peace that he carried with him to Camp David. King Hussein and President Reagan were not the ones to fail this time in the struggle for peace in the Mideast. In- stead, the PLO, by only fighting for it- self, and Israel by trying to wipe out the PLO, share the blame and respon- sibility to make the next move. r MNN RESV\NION9 AK VVWENC6- OF 'The EPALURE OF £oc~rwcSj "fNti %KH BOYS ARC UKWNO ESoM \P C ,moor r SAVI 0 0 0 LETTERS TO THE DAILY: 0 A thletic academics not ignored To the Daily: Thanks for the opportunity to share my views in the Daily regarding proposed cuts in the School of Education Physical Education program and the possible impact on inter- collegiate athletics ("Athletes might save physical education," April 3). While most of the quotes credited to me appeared to be generally accurate, others seemed quite out of context to what I said and believe regarding the matter. I am referring specifically to statements which implied that I felt that academic ability was totally disregarded in the admission of athletes. I do not believe that is the case here at all. Although historically athletes have been admitted with lesser qualifications than other studen- ts, both here and in other schools, I have witnessed in recent times more attention and action devoted to the application of higher admissions requirements for athletes than enforced in the past. Neither do I as quoted., place "cleats and basketballs" on par with "teaching and resear- ch" in terms of the influence wielded by each at the Univer- sity. -David Robinson Asst. Director of Admissions April 5 Problems headline 'In Brief' Change Soviet, U.S. rule To the Daily: Anyone who may have happen- ed to pick up April 8's Daily, and quickly skimmed the "In Brief" headlines must be wondering if the Soviet army will be invading the U.S. to the music of Wayne Newton on July 4. The wire ser- vice stories on the Senate Budget Committee's action to trim the President's defense budget, and on Interior Secretary Watt's decision to reverse his "Beach Boys" decision, were in accord with other media reports on those events. However, the Daily's To the Daily: There is a fundamental weakness in the nuclear "freeze" campaign that should be noted. The U.S. ruling class simply will not agree to a nuclear arms freeze unless it has achieved a decisive lead in the arms race. Likewise with the Soviet Union. headlines on those stories were misleading, at best. The Budget Committee did not "halve defen- se budget." It halved the percent increase over last year's budget allocation. Watt did not "keep July 4 concert plans," since, as you reported yesterday, those plans did not include the Beach Boys. Rather, he changed his plans, so that the Beach Boys will be invited. Maybe I'll just pick up the Gargoyle. - Michael D. Martinez April 8 0 will resort to in order to protect their individual economic and imperialist interests. Because each nation considers arms superiority vital for the protec- tion of its own materialist in- terests - the arms race cannot simply be legislated away. There is n no wv to halt the ar- .........,:......::::.::::::: ..::.. ::. .::.. ........................... .,,.::.::::.:....-............... -11-..._,..::.... _._.::::.....:,::::..::::.:.:,.::: ":::n i d