http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/05/27/florida-state-florida-a-m-could-see-changes-research-dollars-under-proposed-trump-budget/349782001/
President Trump’s proposal for deep cuts in many of the federal government’s science and research-focused agencies is fueling anxiety among local university officials.
For Florida State University, millions of dollars are at stake. The uncertainty comes at a time when universities nationwide already are seeing a decline in the pool of grant money available for science-related research.
The result could mean fewer opportunities for researchers to explore breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology and force universities to find new, less lucrative, sources of research-related revenue.
“This isn’t going to happen,” said Gary Ostrander, FSU vice president for research, who is optimistic that Congress wouldn't go along with the Trump administration's proposed cuts. “I would be shocked. It would shut down our research in so many places.”
Tim Moore, Ostrander's Florida A&M University counterpart, however, expresses cautious optimism for now.
Among the agencies targeted for cuts is the National Science Foundation, which provides most of the funding for FSU's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and the National Institutes of Health.
Last year, FSU received about $58 million from the NSF; the university gets about $20 million to $23 million annually from the NIH.
Under Trump’s proposed spending plan, funding for the NSF would be trimmed $776 million, or11 percent.
NSF funding crucial to Mag Lab
FSU has asked the NSF for $250 million in its five-year renewal of funding for the National Magnetic Field Laboratory.“I worry about that because we are waiting for renewal for the Mag Lab, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, and we haven’t gotten the dollar amount of the renewal,” Ostrander told the Democrat. “It may be cut.”
Other agencies facing cuts in the proposed budget include:
- A $1.7 billion decrease for the Department of Energy.
- A $5.8 billion reduction for the National Institutes of Health.
- A $2.4 billion reduction for the Department of Transportation.
- A 1 percent cut in NASA’s budget.
Besides the NSF, the Mag Lab also gets some funding from the National Institutes of Health and from the Department of Energy, in addition to state funding and other sources.
For 2017, FSU is receiving $22.7 million in renewal money from the NSF to the Mag Lab; $2.5 million from National Institute of Mental Health for the Medical Clinical Science department and nearly $2 million from U.S. Department of Energy for its Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. million from U.S. Department of Energy for its Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
A challenge to advancement
Ostrander, as did others, expressed concern about the message the Trump administration’s budget is sending to science researchers across the country.
“The message is the Executive Branch does not support the current scientific activity in the United States,” Ostrander said.
Ostrander said cuts in research funding “absolutely” impact faculty morale, especially on younger researchers.
“They are just getting started,” he said. “They have to compete against others who have been out there for years. It is going to be hard.
“For the last few years federal funding for research has been slowly declining,” he said. “To follow that with major cuts is very concerning and demoralizing to the faculty and staff trying to win these grants so they can do their work.”
"Sustained, robust investments across all the federal science agencies are essential for the United States to compete in an increasingly global economy, strengthen its national security, improve education, and prepare a 21st Century workforce," Greene said in a statement released by the association.
While the big-picture spending cuts are alarming, Ostrander said he’s equally concerned about the administration targeting what is known as overhead costs.
For instance, published reports indicate the Trump administration is looking at eliminating this additional funding or setting a cap on how much research centers receive in addition to the grant. Universities negotiate these fees, which, for some, can range from 10 percent to nearly 100 percent of the grant.
This additional pool of money goes toward administrative duties, equipment, legal, compliance and set-up costs, such as renovating space for labs.
The administration is promoting a 10-percent cap on this spending. In the case of universities, that means research efforts could be crippled because not enough money would be available for related costs and expenses.
“Major portions of most research grants go to pay salaries of the people working on the research,” Ostrander said. “This includes undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, technicians and faculty.
“They all live in Tallahassee and spend money in the Tallahassee economy,” Ostrander said. “If there is a major reduction in the federal support of research we will feel it in lost dollars flowing into Tallahassee.”
For instance, FSU has over $200 million in its research portfolio, which allows the university to get “$30 million to $40 million in overhead costs."
“That would obviously be a major cut,” he said. “That money has to come from somewhere. It would not come from the state, county or city.”
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