Speeches
American Jewish Committee National Human Relations Award Luncheon
Keynote Address
John Barclay Simpson, PhD
14th President of the University at Buffalo
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Good afternoon, everyone. Before I begin my remarks, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate today’s honorees, JoAnn Falletta and Brian Lipke. We’re here today to celebrate the extraordinary impact you have each had on our community through your leadership, integrity, and dedicated service. Each of you has contributed in substantial ways to the quality of life of the communities you serve. The National Human Relations Award recognizes community leaders who have exerted their efforts, vision, and expertise in support of democratic ideals, and in service to the public good. As we honor two extraordinary Western New Yorkers who exemplify these characteristics, I believe this is a very fitting opportunity to reflect upon what it means to serve the public good in today’s increasingly globalized world—in an era when the communities we are part of extend from our immediate neighborhood to the global community.
“The modern research university, as never before, is therefore critical to industrial innovation and economic development in the information age. As the United States has moved over the years from an agrarian economy, to a manufacturing-based economy, to an information-powered economy, the role of the modern research university has become more critical than ever to our nation’s well-being, and to its stature in the global economy.” John B. Simpson President
This is a question that is very much relevant to the University at Buffalo. As a major public research university, the public we serve is defined in increasingly complex and far-reaching ways. The University itself has evolved over the years, from the “University of Buffalo”—a private medical institution established in 1846 to provide medical education and training to serve the health care needs of the growing city of Buffalo—to the University at Buffalo, the largest and most comprehensive public university in New York State and what is commonly regarded as the flagship institution the State University of New York system (which is itself the largest system of public higher education in the world).
As a large and complex public university, our mission at its essence is to improve the quality of life for the many “publics” we serve—regionally, nationally, and globally. We are part of many communities, and our public service commitments are therefore both numerous and complex. The path the University at Buffalo has taken in many ways reflects the historical development of public higher education in the United States.
In 1862, the Morrill Act of Congress radically altered the role and scope of the academy in the United States. Founded on the premise that scholarship and education should be open and accessible to all, the Morrill Act gave every state in the union a sizeable grant of land—the proceeds of which were to be used to establish public colleges for the education of the state’s citizens. Over the ensuing century and a half, land grant and state universities have flourished across the United States. While these universities may look very different than the early land-grant institutions of the 19th century, their most basic characteristic is that they are guided, then and now, by a tripartite mission of research, education, and public service.
As the public research university has evolved through the 20th century, so has the scope of its impact and its spheres of influence. In the last half-century or so, the research university has changed in substantial and fundamental ways. Following World War II, the federal government committed itself to investing substantially in university research, particularly in the science and engineering fields, in order to strengthen the U.S. position relative to other nations in terms of economic, military, intellectual, and technological strength. For example, as a graduate student, I received a NDEA Title IV Fellowship for graduate education in neurosciences, a program created in the aftermath of Sputnik to strengthen U.S. science competitiveness.
1980 saw the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act, which enables universities to own and patent inventions developed through federally funded research programs. This measure has provided key incentive for universities to market their technologies, and for industry to invest in university research. As a result, the modern research university has become increasingly a partner with industry, called upon to develop intellectual property and new technologies for transfer and development in the business and industry sector. This is the origin of the economic engine concept essential to today’s public research university.
The modern research university, as never before, is therefore critical to industrial innovation and economic development in the information age. As the United States has moved over the years from an agrarian economy, to a manufacturing-based economy, to an information-powered economy, the role of the modern research university has become more critical than ever to our nation’s well-being, and to its stature in the global economy. In the past 100 years, U.S. importance in a global context has been largely fueled by our leadership in generating intellectual capital. This is increasingly no longer the case. U.S. leadership—indeed, U.S. domination—in research and the generation of intellectual property and a superbly trained workforce is on the wane.
America’s favored position in the world’s economy is threatened as never before—a trend I attribute to four primary reasons:
- Funding and basic public support is declining. This is partly our doing, and partly a function of the abundance of competing priorities that we’re faced with.
- A second key reason is the increasing failure of the U.S. to produce its own native educated populace, especially in science and engineering. The U.S. currently ranks 7th in the world in terms of bachelor’s degrees and high school diplomas per capita—whereas only 20 years ago, we ranked #1 globally.
- Another reason is that the U.S. is slipping in terms of our foreign undergraduate and graduate enrollments, largely because of difficulties in obtaining student visas post 9/11. As indicated by our international enrollments at UB, this is a national trend we are clearly seeing here at UB.
- The rise of foreign universities: Students abroad are finding that they can get an increasingly competitive education at home, so why go abroad?
- For example, Singapore has a well considered, long term plan for research university development as a critical issue of national strategy and importance. I had the opportunity to personally witness some of the fruits of this plan this past summer, when I traveled to Singapore to meet with students, faculty, and administrators at our partner institution, the Singapore Institute of Management.
- Australia, China, India, the UK, and the European Union likewise are examples of other nations that have surpassed the United States in recognizing the critical importance of investing in education and research.
- The rest of the world is copying our university structure—particularly its research emphases—and catching up.
Many of you may have read Thomas Friedman’s bestseller The World is Flat—a timely and highly recommended discussion of some of these issues. The book is very relevant to the challenges and opportunities facing higher education today—and it paints a very clear picture of the pivotal role education and research play in the increasingly global economy. This conversation is highly relevant to the future of New York State. Governor Pataki, in fact, recently commented about Friedman’s book just last week in his State of the State address: “Today is clearly the dawn of a new economic paradigm—where brains rather than brawn, research rather than resources, will be the determining factors in the increasingly global competition for growth, investment, and jobs.”
This is the heart of a paradox. Public higher education is in what I like to call a “perfect storm.” Expectations for research & development, economic support, and educational opportunity have never been greater. Our place among nations depends upon our intellectual success. Yet public support for public higher education grows increasingly lower, across the U.S.
I believe this phenomenon has grave consequences, both within a national and a global context. Within a national context, we are simultaneously impacted by a trend toward significantly decreased spending at both the federal and state levels. Consider, for example, the disparity between government support for K-12 and higher education: NYS ranks #2 nationally in K-12 support per capita of state/local government expenditures, but #47 in terms of higher education support per capita.
Taxpayer support per student has likewise decreased rapidly. In 1991, 74% of all public university revenue came from state and local taxes. By 2004 this figure had fallen to 64%. Many flagship institutions like UB and our peers fall significantly below this national average: At the University of Michigan the taxpayer share of public university revenues is only 18 %. At the University of Illinois it is 25%, and at the University of Virginia, it is a mere 8%. UB fares somewhat better than those institutions, although we still fall significantly under the national average, which is itself decreasing steadily. At UB, only 31% of our budget is funded through taxpayer support—less than half the national average.
This clearly is an “unplanned privatization,” and it is having a drastically negative impact on the public service and public access missions at the heart of public education. There is increasing dominance of private and public universities for rank.
I do not know the consequences of this long-term “un-policy” for education, but it cannot be good for my university or my country.
The key question public research universities at UB must ask ourselves is this: what do these national and global issues signify for UB, and more importantly, what are we doing to address them? We must also ask ourselves, what are we doing with what we have?
As a public research university with a strong international presence, UB has both a great opportunity and a great responsibility to play a leading role in this globalization effort—regionally, nationally, internationally.
- Enrollment and Revenues
- New York State’s largest and most comprehensive public university
- Enrollment: 26,500, including 3,500 international students from 100 countries
- According to Business First’s 2006 Book of Lists, UB is the region’s 6th largest employer, with 6,488 full-time and 14,076 total employees
- Regional impact
- When last measured, UB’s regional economic impact was approx. $1.25 billion (more than 4x the state’s yearly investment in the community)
- UB’s 18,165 undergraduate students spend nearly $8,000 per student in WNY each year.
- Every $1 of research funding produces $3 in economic impact to the community
- Every $1 M in faculty grant money creates an avg. of 29 jobs
- UB 2020 is a long-range strategic planning process designed to maximize our impact and our opportunities for future growth
- Just as any successful business is built on a clearly defined, long-range plan for growth, UB is looking carefully at our mission, aspirations, and goals, as well as assessing our strengths and weaknesses, and planning for how to maximize our opportunities for the future.
- Goal: Make UB one of the nation’s leading public research universities over the next 15 years, and create a culture of change to sustain long-range institutional excellence into the 21st century
- The stronger the university, the greater its economic impact. By building a stronger UB, UB 2020 will ensure more intellectual capital, more jobs created, and a stronger economy for the region
