Senator Pushes Colleges for Enhanced Oversight of Funded Research and Endowments

Published 28 July 08 09:57 PM | Student Loan Girl

Sen. Charles Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, wants colleges to be held more accountable in both their academic research and their endowment spending, according to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Sen. Grassley Pressures Universities on Science Conflicts and Financial Aid,” July 25, 2008).

In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle, Grassley said the National Institutes of Health should revoke any of the grants it awards to scientists if a researcher fails to report a conflict of interest with her or his institution. The senator has singled out several institutions of higher education, including Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Cincinnati, after his office determined that some scientists at these schools had not fully reported their own financial interests in research projects supported by the NIH, as research institutions are required to do by law.

Grassley has asked 20 other colleges and universities to provide details about possible financial conflicts of interest between university researchers and the NIH.

Colleges Need to Direct More of Their Endowment Funds Toward Financial Aid

The senator has also criticized academic institutions with large endowments for spending too little on financial aid for disadvantaged students. The senator recently asked 136 schools to specify how they spend their endowment income.

Institutions that responded indicated that much of these endowments comes from donors who have earmarked their financial gifts for purposes other than financial aid. The senator said he wasn’t persuaded by the argument and noted that he may still pursue legislation that would require universities to spend as much as 5 percent of their endowments each year, although he hopes such a requirement won’t be necessary.

Grassley stated that he may not sponsor such legislation if more schools begin voluntarily following the example set by some of the nation’s elite institutions that began funneling more of their endowment funds to student financial aid packages earlier this year.