Stanford: What is the particular role research universities play in the United States?
Jon Levin: The United States has an exceptional model for scientific discovery. After World War II, the government recognized the need for the country to be at the forefront of science and technology, and adopted a highly effective strategy. The government supports research within universities using a competitive, merit-based process. Universities give researchers the freedom to explore different ideas and to publish results openly. The private sector picks up these ideas and takes them out into the world. Sometimes that happens immediately—for instance, Google’s search algorithm was developed under a National Science Foundation–funded project—and sometimes years later. Many ideas underlying modern AI—neural networks, reinforcement learning, gradient descent—were developed years ago and were ready when large-scale data and computation arrived.
The partnership between universities and the federal government has enabled the United States to be the most innovative country in the world, with the strongest economy, and the place where talented young people want to come. And it enabled Stanford to become the world-leading research university it is today, not only a home of discovery and learning, but the epicenter of the most innovative ecosystem on the planet.
We’re talking in February, at a time when there is some strain to the partnership between the government and universities. What is going on?
Research funding for universities has a history of strong bipartisan support. We’ve entered a period of much greater uncertainty. One example has been criticism of so-called indirect costs, which are the part of federal grants that goes toward funding labs and equipment and administrative support. The government wants universities to be effective stewards of taxpayer funds, and keep administrative costs low. That’s fair, and at the same time, it’s important to recognize just how high the return is to federally funded R&D. Virtually every study has found that a dollar of federal funding toward university research generates multiple dollars of social benefit.
The partnership between the government and elite universities is also strained by the perception that we’ve been politically one-sided. That’s an important criticism for us to engage with because universities need to be places where we wrestle with a broad range of ideas. And similarly, we need the government to respect the freedom of faculty and students to pursue research and teaching that go against the political winds.
Alumni may also be wondering about how federal policy changes will affect Stanford’s commitment to campus diversity.
Stanford’s great strength is that we are able to attract such a broad range of talented students and faculty and create an environment where every member of the university is able to achieve their full potential, to speak their mind, and to explore freely. That’s not going to change. Indeed, one of Stanford’s virtues is that the campus is home to many programs that support particular communities that have shared identities or cultures, and these programs are open to everyone, and benefit the entire campus. And most importantly, when a student comes to Stanford, whatever their background or interests, they’re a Stanford student. We’re all in this together to create a community of discovery and learning; that’s an important guiding principle in any political environment.
What do you draw on to navigate these challenges?
Well, universities have a mission of discovery and learning that’s enduring. We’re working intensely right now, including with other universities and leaders, to engage with policymakers in Washington, to articulate the value of great universities, and to renew the social contract between universities and the country. And of course, this is Stanford. We’re a university full of problem-solvers. There’s always room for optimism.
