MSU officials are right not to cut staff despite facing a $34-million shortfall in research grant funding.
The nation is in tough economic times, and every state is losing funding in all sectors of everyday life. MSU is not being left out as state financing cutbacks are taking place in higher education. In February, $12.5 million was cut from the Life Sciences Corridor Initiative. MSU faculty members and researchers also lost 2.5 million in initiative funding last year. Less funds will make it hard for the full staff to continue their renowned work.
This university is one of the premiere research institutions in the country, and much of our funding comes as a result of our findings. It's imperative MSU receives funding in order to remain one of the most competitive researchers.
MSU is well-known for the high quality research that is conducted on this campus. The university received more than $160 million in royalties from Cistoplatin, the drug used to treat testicular cancer, and its counterpart, Carboplatin, which is used to treat ovarian cancer. With advancements in research coming out of the university, both the university and society benefit. To maintain this standard we cannot afford to sacrifice funding.
The USDA is set to squelch university programs and Michigan's Life Science Corridor Initiative won't be appropriating as much money this year. In spite of this, university officials aren't worried because they say contributions to society can still be made through research despite the lack of funding.
In order to understand the importance of our university's research, look at the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health building, set to open February. The facility will conduct research on livestock diseases. It's possible that researchers could eradicate deadly diseases through further research, so cutting back on funding is equivalent to back pedaling.
Research is vital to our reputation for excellence. We cannot afford to keep losing funding for the research we are recognized for. By maintaining a full staff we can maintain the funding we need and make up for the funding losses.
