Salter: University research vital part of economy

STARKVILLE – Mississippi was the beneficiary of $408.1 million in federally funded academic research and development activities in Fiscal Year 2014.

For the record, here’s the breakdown by university: Mississippi State University, $209.7 million; University of Mississippi and University of Mississippi Medical Center, $109.9 million; University of Southern Mississippi, $51.9 million; Jackson State University, $26.6 million; and Alcorn State University, $10 million.

Perhaps some perspective on federal investment in Mississippi academic research is in order. Here’s a sampling of Southeastern Conference universities and their federally funded research in FY 2014: Texas A&M and A&M’s Health Science Center, $854.2 million; Florida, $708.5 million; Vanderbilt, $683.8 million; Georgia, $355.4 million; Kentucky, $328.2 million; LSU (main campus), $290 million; Missouri, $237.2 million; South Carolina, $206.1 million; Tennessee (main campus), $179 million; Auburn, $142.4 million; Arkansas, $125.8 million; and Alabama (Tuscaloosa), $53.1 million.

University of Alabama-Birmingham’s huge medical complex brings in another $28.5 million while the Huntsville campus brings in another $89.3 million in primarily missile technology research. A hat tip to MSU colleague Jim Laird for crunching those numbers.

So, what would critics of federally funded academic research make of what taxpayers are funding in Mississippi?

It’s difficult to talk about federally funded academic research in America without thinking back to the late U.S. Sen. William Proxmire, the Democratic senator from Wisconsin for 32 years and the successor of the infamous red-baiter Joe McCarthy.

Proxmire was an enigma. He was best known for the award he invented, the so-called “Golden Fleece Award” that the senator issued for what he saw as examples of “wasteful” government spending. The “Golden Fleece” propelled Proxmire into national renown and he was able to call attention to questionable government spending.

He once went after the National Institute for Mental Health for spending $97,000 in federal funds to study what went on inside Peruvian brothels. Proxmire went after  President Ronald Reagan’s inaugural committee for spending $15.5 million on the president’s second inauguration.

The Wisconsin Democrat went after NASA for searching for extraterrestrial life — but later dropped that “Golden Fleece” after protests from no less than physicist Carl Sagan.

But whether it’s lifesaving medical research at UMMC in Jackson, groundbreaking organic solar cell research at USM in Hattiesburg, national leadership in unmanned aerial systems research at MSU, software development at JSU or biotechnology research at Alcorn, Mississippi’s universities remain the state’s most active and productive R&D center for industry.

Both Nissan and Toyota have relied on MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems and the Center for Manufacturing Excellence. Research that supports high quality jobs benefits Mississippi taxpayers.

Microsoft’s Bill Gates, who had no small amount of private sector success, said it best in assessing the return on investment from federally funded research: “Governments will always play a huge part in solving big problems. They set public policy and are uniquely able to provide the resources to make sure solutions reach everyone who needs them. They also fund basic research, which is a crucial component of the innovation that improves life for everyone.”

Proxmire, who targeted university research expenditures with the Golden Fleece, was still a politician. While he saw what he identified as “waste” in federal spending, he kept those expansive dairy price supports flowing back to the Wisconsin dairy industry as regular as sunrise.

Enigma? Sure. The enemy of wasteful spending in the U.S. Senate was also one of the first high-profile politicians to invest his own money in a hair transplant.

Although Proxmire famously battled some university research, he told writer Robert Irion in an interview in The Scientist magazine in 1988 that he recognized the value of even obscure research: “Even if you don’t get a return for many years, if you can make the basic research breakthroughs, they’ve turned out to be invaluable again and again.”

Sid Salter is a contributing columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.