Research and Dividends

Too often the numbers associated with the University of Maine and research have been dismal. Take, for example, Maine’s embarrassing 50th-place ranking in the United States in terms of per capita investment in research and development.

So, here is a number that should be trumpeted, especially to lawmakers who will soon consider cutting the university’s budget. Maine now ranks in the top 10 in the number of companies that are spun off from university per $10 million of R&D expenditures, according to the Association of University Technology Managers. In one year, six new companies were launched based on research done at UMaine. Today, they are small and not turning a profit, but each has the potential to employ local people and pay local taxes.

Five years ago voters approved the first large increase in state R&D funding with the promise of dividends down the road. Although the influx of cash since then has been smaller than many hoped, the results at UMaine show that even a modest investment pays returns. One reason is that state money that flows to the university for research can be levied to attract federal grants, often bringing in up to four federal dollars for every state dollar.

That is why a drastic cut to the Orono campus budget now would be unfortunate.

The University of Maine System has been asked to consider cutting $13 million from its current budget to help cover a $113 million deficit in the state’s Medicaid program. The rationale from the governor’s office is that the state’s educational institutions need to do their share to help cover this gap. In total, state agencies have been asked to trim $22 million to cover the unexpected deficit caused by poor record keeping and overenrollment in Medicaid programs. The university system has been asked to consider cutting another $10 million from next year’s budget.

While spreading out the pain of dealing with the shortage at the Department of Human Services makes sense on one level, including the university system in the cuts may well have unintended consequences. The easiest budget cuts to make part way through an academic year are often to research programs, said UMaine Vice President for Research Michael Eckardt. It may be expedient to take away money set aside to match federal grants or to simply not apply for grants, but, in the long term, this will harm university R&D and the state economy.

Although Maine led the nation in the percentage of increased funding for R&D between 1993 and 2002, it only moved up one notch to 49th place for academic research funding. Even with the 114 percent increase in academic R&D spending, Maine’s investment in such endeavors remains small potatoes. The top performing states all had more than $8 billion in R&D; Maine’s total R&D funding this year was $53 million. As the National Science Foundation noted, many of the states with the fastest growing gross state products were also among the top performers in R&D expenditures.

So, Maine is making progress – huge by state standards, but baby steps by national standards. To undercut that progress by taking away research funds would be a big mistake.

When lawmakers reconvene in January they have to plug the $113 million hole, but they should look harder to find ways to cut other state programs before targeting the university system.