UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At their spring meeting this week, the presidents and chancellors of the member universities of the Association of American Universities, including Penn State President Eric Barron, strongly endorsed a statement opposing cuts to federal research partnership funding.
“American science has put a man on the moon, ended polio, sequenced the human genome, connected the world through the internet and then placed it in the palm of your hand, and allowed us to diagnose countless medical conditions with the aid of an MRI. The partnership that has enabled this now faces an existential threat. At the same time our nation’s greatest economic competitors are rapidly gaining ground,” reads the statement.
“We must reaffirm our commitment to the extraordinary partnership the federal government has built with American universities that has fostered unprecedented scientific achievement and economic growth in the United States since WWII. This partnership has generated untold job growth, greatly improved our national health, and reinforced our national security.
“We call on every American who cares about the welfare, security, and prosperity of our nation to join us in urging our nation’s leaders to renew and strengthen this partnership. Our economy depends on our ability to create the technologies, cures, and jobs of the future.”