National Academies to Study the Future of US Research Universities. (July 1, 2010)

The US National Research Council has announced it will create a panel of 21 business and higher-education leaders to identify, at the request of Congress, the top 10 actions that Congress, the federal government, state governments, research universities, and others could take to assure the ability of the American research university to maintain the excellence in research and doctoral education. The panel will be chaired by former du Pont CEO Charles O. Holliday, Jr.

The US research universities have lobbied the federal government arguing that because of cuts in state support, the federal government needs to play a greater role in financing science and research at public institutions. The Association of American Universities through its president, Robert Berdahl, claims: "The competitive advantage the United States currently enjoys is obvious, but retaining it cannot be taken for granted."

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education about half of the 21 members of the study panel, will consist of "corporate leaders", and "input from business leaders could be critical to ensuring political support for any final recommendations, the official said. Current and former university presidents will comprise much of the rest of the panel".

And it is not improbable that the "study may also take the panel of experts into the politically sensitive topic of immigration, including questions of whether the federal government should be doing more to encourage top foreign students to remain in the country. The panel is expected to begin conferring by phone this [northern] summer and hold its first in-person meeting in the fall, with the goal of issuing a final report within 12 months".