Vanishing funds

Imagine you've been busting your butt, and you get a two-cent tip on a $40 tab. Now you know how scientists feel in the wake of new budget cuts proposed for two of the major science funding agencies: the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. It's just insulting. \nAccording to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the NIH budget proposed for fiscal year 2006 lags behind inflation for the first time since the 1980s. And the NSF has fared worse, with cuts of up to 43 percent in the area of science education.\nMost people see this and think, "So what? We're doing OK here at IU. We're even getting a new multidisciplinary science building." Sure, we've got a new building on the way, but it was started before the budgets came out, and now anyone with an interest in the sciences -- undergraduates, graduates and even professors -- have reason to worry. \n"There are researchers I know who are up for review of their grant proposals for the third (and final) time," said Susan Strome, a professor in the IU Department of Biology and recent Capitol Hill lobbyist. "It's not that the proposals aren't good -- they're really great, but there just won't be enough funding for everyone (who needs or deserves it)." \nWith fewer grants being renewed or approved, graduate students previously supported by their advisors' grants will require support from their departments, usually in the form of an associate instructor position. But there might not be enough open positions to go around. \nAnd it's not just the biology grads who are affected. If there are enough AI positions available, grads from other departments are offered AI positions. For example, Gretchen Clearwater, adviser for graduate affairs in the biology department, said in years past, AI positions have been offered to grads from the School of Education, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the School of Medicine. But because there are so many biology grads who need to be supported by the department, there just aren't any extra positions available for students outside biology.\nClearwater said there are two other immediate impacts of the budget problems facing the federal funding agencies: (1) cuts in the program that funds the Undergraduate Teaching Interns, and (2) cuts in resources available to AIs.\nWith cuts in the program for UTIs, fewer undergraduates will gain teaching experience, and the professors who teach classes that normally would have UTIs are going to have a huge amount of grading thrust upon them. This leads to less time spent on lesson plans and other activities, which leads to a decrease in the quality of education undergrads get here at IU.\nAs for the cuts in resources, grads lucky enough to receive an assistantship will not be able to provide undergrads with the education they deserve. For instance, the University no longer provides a teaching handbook for the AIs, and funds for photocopies are always scarce. The class that I taught, L113, an introductory biology lab, required me to write and make copies of all my own quizzes and worksheets. With 25 students in my class, there's no way I could have paid for all those copies out-of-pocket on a weekly basis. And the quizzes and worksheets let me assess who was struggling with the concepts and who was doing fine; it would make my job a whole lot more difficult if I didn't have those handouts to grade.\nOverall, the decrease in science funding will act like a stone in a pond: It won't just affect the science community; it will influence everyone in the United States as the ripples travel out. Cancer and disease research, scientific innovations, education of future scientists, the competitive ability of scientists in the country and general quality of life will all feel the effect.