by Ben McCoy
UC faculty systemwide strongly believe that research funding on their campuses has not kept up with increased costs, and that this has adversely impacted their research programs. The University Committee on Research Policy (UCORP) verified this view in a 1996 survey on the research environment at UC (http://apollo.gse.uci.edu/UCORP/climate.html). With its 72% response rate, the survey painted a clear picture of how faculty believe their own research has been adversely affected by inadequate infrastructural resources and inadequate intramural funding and administrative support.
The faculty conclusion that UC funding for research has declined is supported by the evidence of dwindling internal research funds. Twenty years ago every faculty member at UC Davis could rely on receiving a grant each year that would cover most of the airfare for travel to a professional meeting. Even though research and professional meeting costs have skyrocketed over the past 20 years, Committee on Research (COR) grants for travel and for research have stagnated. According to the Consumer Price Index, the value of a 1978 dollar is now $2.75. Registration fees for meetings for most professional organizations equaled or exceeded the CPI increase. For many faculty, the out-of-pocket costs to attend a meeting to present a research paper have become prohibitive.
COR grants for faculty research 20 years ago included sufficient funding to support a research assistant over the summer. In 1978, the fees for an in-state graduate student were Research (Con’t)
$240/quarter, while in 1998 the same fees increased to $1474. For a nonresident student, quarterly fees increased from $875 to $4274 over the same period. In 1978 chemical disposal costs were minimal; now the cost to dispose of used research chemicals frequently exceeds their purchase price. Obsolete instructional equipment funds and non-recurring equipment funds, which helped maintain research and laboratory instrumentation, have decayed to nothing over the years. In most departments, technical support has dwindled. The faculty keenly feel these inadequacies and expressed their frustrations in no uncertain terms in responding to the survey. The cumulative effect of the deteriorating research environment at UC has been declining faculty morale, which is well-documented in the UCORP report.
DFA believes that adequate funding for COR should be restored and regularly adjusted for inflation in order to maintain a baseline of support that will be adequate to assist faculty actively engaged in research. Faculty in all departments should enjoy a minimal level of ordinary day-to-day departmental support that includes telephone, access to a duplication machine for routine copying, computer equipment and access, stationery, postage, and supplies.
Every faculty member should be at least partially funded for one trip each year to present research results, and should have a reasonable expectation of intramural funding being available to cover modest research expenses. The benefits would be an improvement in faculty working conditions as well as in the general welfare of the university.