UA research professors say that Congress’ continued funding of research programs will expand students’ opportunities and benefit the economy.
Following recent concerns over President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which suggested significant cut funds to federal programs such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and NASA, the Senate rejected the cuts last month. The new bill passed the House on Feb. 3 and was signed into law by Trump later that day.
“I think our representatives really understand the return on investment of these dollars,” said Heath Turner, associate dean of research and economic development for the Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering. “When these dollars come to these universities, they know that it’s going to be training students and providing jobs. It’s just a really big boost to the economy of different states.”
Professors said researchers and faculty at the University are more likely to obtain grants with a larger pool of money available.
“We get support from a federal organization. It brings in additional resources to the University and to faculty members to support their research,” said Shawn Mobbs, associate dean for faculty and research at the Culverhouse College of Business. “They can do a variety of things that maybe they would not have been able to do otherwise.”
Mobbs said the college is researching human trafficking with a National Science Foundation award and trying to expand the project by proposing a larger grant.
“Something we are hoping to see down the road is expanding some of our current work from analyzing and doing research and finding ways to attack the problem of human trafficking, to expanding that to handling drug or weapons trafficking,” he said.
Last year, Trump’s proposed budget cuts from scientific research amounted to over $32 billion. Communities surrounding universities have also been affected by research cuts. SCIMaP shows Tuscaloosa County has lost $1.4 million in NIH grants, with roughly $224,000 of that loss coming from the University.
“I think it’s very important that the members of Congress see the value in science, and I think a lot of them are also concerned about whether or not, when we cut this level of research funding, it is going to impact local communities around the University,” said Nicole Ruggiano, associate dean of research and development for the School of Social Work.
Beyond the local sphere, researchers agree that innovative projects will help the United States stay competitive in the future.
“If you’re not making the investments today, there will be significant impacts a decade later,” Turner said. “These companies that are trying to hire students are looking for talent at our universities, so we’re a primary hub of talent for the workforce. The more we can do and invest in that is going to pay dividends many years in the future.”
As for the trajectory of future research as political administrations change, professors say it depends on each university and how it obtains funding.
“I think right now it’s still difficult to forecast how things might change,” Ruggiano said.
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