University investment

This is how effectively Maine can invest in itself: The Legislature last session sent $400,000 to the University of Maine for research; the university immediately used that money to leverage $2.8 million in federal grants. The only question lawmakers should have now is how much more can the state send in this direction.

The answer is $20 million to $25 million a year, every year. This is the level of funding necessary to turn around a research network that has been neglected for too long. A $20 million investment in research, according to George Jacobson, director of the university’s Institute for Quaternary Studies, leverages $100 million in grants. That money creates good jobs and a demand for construction, buys local goods and spins off related businesses. These, in turn, send back to the state in taxes the $20 million investment, thereby raising the quality of life throughout the state and without costing taxpayers.

The University of Maine is not just the state’s flagship campus. It is a major employer in this region and an engine for economic development throughout the entire state. The engine needs gas to run, but the Legislature in the past has tried to fuel it on promises. This year marks the first time UMaine will reach the funding level it had in 1990 — it has suffered millions of dollars in cuts while the state budget itself has grown by leaps and bounds. The state’s level of investment in research remains dead last in the nation.

Part of the difficulty Maine faces is that the rest of the country did not sit still while this state cut its budget for higher education. Investments in universities, particularly in the Southeast, have encouraged regions to grow and prosper. The research triangle in North Carolina is the best known of these, but almost all states have figured out that high-tech, high-paying jobs are preferable to growth in minimum wage service sector jobs, which is where Maine is headed.

The University of Maine has world-class professors doing important work in everything from satellites to bridge-building. Given half a chance, the university could do far more, helping Maine in the process. UMaine, however, has been too timid in the past about making its case that it deserves serious research funding. That has changed recently, but the message may still not have reached the Legislature. Fortunately, the university has a built-in constituency that can help: 39,000 UMaine alumni live in Maine, and recent grads especially should be aware of the gross underfunding of the campus.

Alumni should closely examine the work by a promising bipartisan legislative committee, which in January is to make a recommendation for university research funding. That committee understands that spending on university research is a great investment for Maine. It now needs to show that it also has the political will to recommend a serious commitment to both UMaine and the University of Southern Maine — without resorting to bond questions or other ways of passing the buck.

The benchmark is $20 million a year. Alumni interested in seeing their university thrive should call, fax or write their local legislators to let them know they want to see at least this amount of investment. Maine residents interested in seeing the state’s economy improve should do likewise.