Telling Our Research Story
Dear members of the Columbia community,
This week, seven Columbia faculty members braved the sweltering Washington, D.C., heat and humidity to participate in 15 meetings with lawmakers and Congressional staff. They were there to tell the Columbia story we all know so well—the one that receives far too little attention from too many in the rest of the world—that of the essential work being done by our scientists and researchers.
Our faculty, Marcel Agueros (Astronomy and Astrophysics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences), Marina Cattalozzi (Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center), Savannah Eisner (Electrical Engineering, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science), Anthony Ferrante (Internal Medicine/Diabetes Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center), Radley Horton (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Climate School), Jose Luchsinger-Stuart (Internal Medicine/Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center), and Brian Smith (Computer Science, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science), met with a bipartisan group of Representatives and staff from New York and New Jersey and staff from the House Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and Appropriations and the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science.
Their goal was to emphasize the negative and potentially disastrous consequences of sharply reduced federal funding for science and R&D at agencies such as National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others. Another point of the mission was to make connections and get specific about their essential work in critically important areas—everything from diabetes, pediatric cardiology, Alzheimer’s, AI, climate extremes, semiconductors and quantum computing, and the evolution of the universe.
Their messages were compelling, and they resonated. The reception they received at every stop, was one of serious engagement and concern. Our faculty members described the critical threat to health outcomes, and also to employment in New York State. They emphasized the need to maintain American competitiveness, noting that several in the group continue to receive offers to move their labs to China and elsewhere.
They also talked about the risk to the future of the American scientific workforce—how universities, thanks to federal funding, provide a unique training ground for the next generation of researchers, with PhD students spending years being trained and mentored by leading scientists. This is something industry could never afford to replicate, and it has become a critical driver of innovation, discovery, and economic growth.
Telling stories like these is such an important part of our advocacy work. It’s imperative that our lawmakers in Washington understand not only Columbia’s contributions, but also the effects of these broad cuts on our institution and the whole of the scientific and medical research ecosystem in this country.
We’re hoping to host a more fulsome readout of this past week’s session via Zoom in the next week or so. As I mentioned last month, I hope to engage our faculty and staff in regular conversations like these. We’re planning more trips to D.C., and Columbia faculty and researchers interested in learning more can email our government affairs team here. I’m grateful for these and other efforts. We have no better advocates for the transformative power of this institution than our faculty and staff.
Sincerely,
Claire Shipman
Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York