Why Science Matters President Jayathi Murthy on staying true to Oregon State’s mission in uncertain times.

Much like two years ago when the Pac-12 collapsed, today we’re discussing something altogether unexpected, which is the disruption of federal research funding. OSU’s strategic plan lays out the goal of doubling research expenditures over the next five years. Do you still think that’s going to be possible in the new climate we find ourselves in? We’re focused on continuing to deliver on our mission. We’re focused on OSU being a place where big ideas lead to big solutions. There is, of course, a lot of uncertainty in the federal research funding landscape. As we do long-term planning, we have to be prepared for instability and turbulence — we have to harden our research enterprise against this instability. This means broadening our research base, pursuing research opportunities aggressively and across the spectrum — federal, industrial, philanthropic. If we do things right, I think we will succeed.

It’s June as we speak, and Congress is working to finalize a budget. What’s at stake in the large-scale cuts to research funding being discussed, and what does it mean for Oregon State? Before we talk about what that means to universities and to OSU in particular, we’ve got to recognize the potential consequences to science and the loss of American dominance in scientific research, which has really existed since World War II. The payout to American society has been enormous in all kinds of ways: in conveniences, in advances in medical care and in cutting-edge technologies that we all use every single day.

Universities do a lot of that fundamental research. People have been talking about industry doing it more efficiently and how we should send this research over to industry. But the truth is, the arrangement that we’ve come to, which has worked well, is that the federal government funds high-risk research, and the results are owned by the public, not locked away as private intellectual property. This arrangement takes away the risk and expense for industry so they can create practical solutions and applications based on that research. Universities also train the next generation of researchers.

The federal government funds high-risk research, and the results are owned by the public, not locked away as private intellectual property.

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Can you give an example of what you mean by high-risk research? Look at quantum science. Nowadays we’re talking so much about quantum computing, and all these folks are spinning off quantum computing companies. But quantum mechanics was developed in the early 1900s. And at the time, it was invented to explain certain measured phenomena that could not be explained by classical mechanics. Nobody thought that that was going to be the basis of microelectronics or computing — computers as we know them didn’t even exist. If a company took the risk of developing something like quantum mechanics with the view that it was going to pay off in 100 years — they would never do it. There’s no board of a company that would ever allow a company to invest in that way. We should also think about whether such fundamental knowledge can really sit in private hands. Imagine if Newton’s laws of motion sat in private hands. What would that even mean?

A patent fee? Right? For use of Newton’s laws! There are things that have to sit in the public domain. So for OSU, what does this mean when we think about potential big funding cuts? We’ve got huge investments in all things sustainability, all things environment, all things climate. That means cuts to NOAA or the Department of Energy would mean the loss of valuable intellectual work. We won’t be training as many graduate students because we won’t be able to support them on research funds. We will have fewer undergraduates in the labs doing hands-on work and learning about the fun of science and perhaps choosing scientific careers. It means that the high-end workforce pipeline, particularly the science and tech workforce pipeline, will be much, much thinner. These hits will be felt five, 10, 15 years from now. These are very real losses, not just for OSU, but also for society more broadly.

Have we felt any impacts already? Yes, we’re certainly beginning to feel them. For example, federal funding for an OSU project on K-12 mental health and counseling services for rural and Central Oregon schools was discontinued. Many Oregon school districts have very high student-to-counselor ratios and low retention rates for counselors, so this is a big blow. There are other types of impacts as well. Job prospects and internship opportunities for students have also fallen off due to federal funding cuts and uncertainty about the future.

Do you think scientific research can survive without federal funding? I don’t think it can in its current form. Philanthropy doesn’t have sufficient scale. I mean, if you look at what foundations do, they’re incredibly generous and they fund good work. But nothing compares to the size of the federal government. Similarly, industry could fund it. Industry does have scale. But they just won’t support long-term research. And of course, industry will want to protect intellectual property.

About 7% of Oregon State students — that’s about 2,500 — are international students. It’s not clear yet how new policies will affect them, but perhaps you can speak to why they’re important to OSU. For OSU, as for most U.S. universities, international students bring a wealth of talent and a connection to the world that we would not otherwise have. It is true that international students pay full freight, and this helps offset the costs that Oregonians bear. But they bring so much more — different cultures, different perspectives, food, music, the arts — all of this is incredibly enriching.

As a land grant university, our connection to the world is especially important. The issues we work on — issues around food, water, climate, health, energy — these are global issues. International students connect us to the places and people to whom these issues matter most.

And we shouldn’t forget the other advantages. The affinity we create in these young people for American values, for the American system, for democracy, for the general idea that the U.S. stands for good in the world — this is very important currency. Currency that is much more important than the money these students bring in.

How is OSU taking action on these issues? We are working to identify the things that we can actually act on. We’re hardening our research enterprise, figuring out a way to deal with long-term uncertainty. We’ve got to broaden the base of research. We have to build relationships in Washington D.C. We’ve got to advocate for research support. But we’ve also got to work extensively with national bodies on the advocacy front. Individual universities can do some things, but I think the collective is much more powerful. That collective must find its voice.

We also have to tell the story of higher ed as the ultimate soft power. Immigration issues are important, but student visas are not the central reason for the mess in immigration that we have. We’ve got to continue to educate the public about the issues around immigration and the extraordinary role international students have played in American prosperity.  And when we recruit international students, we must support them, we must provide them with security and safety.

A lot of what you’re talking about is us telling the story of why the university is important and why science is important. Have we not told that story? To some degree we have, and to some degree we have not. For example, I’ve been very surprised at the lack of understanding around what research funding is. The federal government is paying universities to do this research because it wants the results. It’s not a favor. They’re not paying our bills for the sake of being nice. They want the work that we’re doing. So I’ve got to ask whether we’ve ever really educated the public on how research is done in the country, how it’s funded, how it’s deployed. None of that appears to be clear.

These are very real losses, not just for OSU, but also for society more broadly.

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At the state level, we also need to tell the story that the university creates knowledge, but that this also has an economic impact in Oregon and the world. That’s the reason that we recently commissioned a study of the university’s economic impact. We’ve tried to tell the story there, and the numbers are pretty stunning. We have an impact of $3.5 billion a year on the state. For every dollar that the state spends on OSU, we generate more than $13. The multiplier is really big. That’s exactly the story we need to be telling. [Editor’s note: Learn more in “OSU’s Impact Felt Across the State.”]

Is there anything else you’d like to share? We are here to provide education of the highest quality to every Oregonian who is capable and has the desire to take advantage of it. We have our mission of student access and student success. We will continue to pursue big ideas that lead to big solutions and that translate into use for society. We have a mission of service to the community as a land grant university. All of these ideals have been driving us for 150 years. They’ll drive us for 150 more. In the deeply turbulent and unstable environment we find ourselves in, we need the help of our alumni and our community to tell our story and to help us stay true to these values. This interview was edited for clarity and length.