FARGO – A loss of federal earmark funding is prompting changes for applied research at North Dakota State University. Among the possibilities: Reducing staff and creating a private nonprofit affiliated with NDSU that could focus on commercializing research.
The university was accustomed to using the tens of millions in Congressional earmarks it received each year to fund real-world research. The practice of awarded earmarks was recently discontinued.
The Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering – where researchers are developing coatings for Navy ships, among other projects – is critically affected. The center, referred to as CNSE, is primarily supported with outside research dollars that fund projects with practical applications.
With the elimination of earmark funding, along with declining federal support for research, universities will be competing for scarce resources.
“Opportunities are smaller, and everybody’s going after it, so it’s really difficult to match this sort of funding that was available through the earmarks,” said Larry Pederson, who recently resigned as director of CNSE.
NDSU officials are exploring a way to restructure CNSE that would enhance its potential to attract funding from private companies.
One option is creating a private nonprofit organization that’s affiliated with NDSU and focused on commercializing research.
“Given the changes in federal funding and the importance of continuing that research in North Dakota, we’re looking for models that will allow CNSE to not be left at the whim of federal funding,” said NDSU President Dean Bresciani.
In addition, CNSE is going to focus on the two areas that have the most potential for private funding – microelectronics and coatings, said Phil Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer.
That could result in staff reductions in other areas.
“We have to make adjustments over time,” Boudjouk said. “Whether or not they’ll involve cuts, it’s not fully determined yet.”
Former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who helped secure millions for NDSU, said he’s optimistic that the foundation NDSU developed with the earmarks will continue to attract research dollars.
“That foundation is going to allow NDSU to be very competitive now in competing for funds, both from federal agencies that have funds available and also from the private sector,” Dorgan said.
North Dakota recently enjoyed ranking among the states with the highest earmark dollars awarded per capita, thanks to the level of influence of the state’s congressional delegation.
In fiscal year 2010, North Dakota ranked seventh among the states that were awarded the most federal earmarks directed to colleges, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported using data from Taxpayers for Common Sense.
NDSU was awarded in the neighborhood of $20 million to $30 million per year in earmarks in recent years.
That funded projects such as the work for the Navy to develop a coating that prevents barnacles from attaching from ships, as well as developing unattended ground sensors that are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Boudjouk said.
The federal funding also allowed NDSU to develop high-tech facilities and attract world-class researchers.
“Earmarks have never supported core university programs,” Boudjouk said. “What we use them for, very successfully, I think, is new infrastructure and new programs.”
The omnibus bill for federal fiscal year 2011 had $28 million earmarked for NDSU for research in energy, defense and agriculture, Boudjouk said.
With those dollars no longer available and the future uncertain, NDSU now has to explore ways to replace that funding.
“The loss of this type of funding is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one,” Boudjouk said.
CNSE prepared for the loss of earmarks by not filling positions as they opened, Boudjouk said.
CNSE now employs 63 people and 18 positions were left vacant, said Carol Renner, communications manager.
Pederson resigned effective Oct. 11. Boudjouk said the two had different philosophies for developing future strategies for CNSE. NDSU granted Pederson a severance package worth about $70,000 in salary and benefits.
Boudjouk is looking for an interim director to lead for about six months while the new structure of CNSE is being developed.
NDSU officials are exploring the creation of a nonprofit that would still be affiliated with NDSU but may provide some advantages to working with private companies.
The new model could affect other applied research at NDSU, including the Center for Computationally Assisted Science and Technology.
Universities in other states, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have models that involve some type of private entity.
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery combines the Morgridge Institute for Research, a private nonprofit, with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, which is public.
The two institutes are located in one facility on the university campus.
Janet Kelly, director of communications, said the institutes have the reputation and resources of a public research university while being able to be more flexible and respond more quickly to work with industry.
Pederson said that working in a public setting sometimes creates challenges for NDSU to partner with private companies.
“A separate organization, if set up well, could potentially make that easier,” he said.
Research at NDSU facing changes (InForum)
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