Tax the Rich and Build the Trails
User fees and other pay-to-play policies are a regressive scheme that won't fix our public lands. We should resist them.
Funding
America's Fragmented Education Funding System
Kansas must re-visit its state school funding system. What about the rest of the country?
Why Curiosity Should Drive Our Scientific Agenda
Basic research can seem wasteful, but politicians should resist the temptation to set science’s priorities.
Who Funded That?
This list includes studies cited in our pages that received funding from a source other than the researchers’ home institutions. Only principal or corresponding authors are listed.
Parties Are Networks, and You Want Them on Your Side
Even a very loose network of candidates, activists, donors, and interest groups can exert a powerful influence over elections.
Why Is the IRS Delaying New Rules for Dark Money Groups?
The agency has pushed back indefinitely a hearing on new regulations for social welfare non-profits that spend money on politics.
Who Funded That? The Names and Numbers Behind the Research
This list includes studies cited in our pages that received funding from a source other than the researchers’ home institutions. Only principal or corresponding authors are listed.
Why Sex Research Is Worth Funding With Public Money
Sexuality is a fundamental component of the human experience, and it's one we need to have a better understanding of.
Who Funded That? The Names and Numbers Behind the Research
Because we believe in transparency.
In Defense of Studying the Duck Penis
Duck penis expert Patricia Brennan offers a catalog of all the amazing things that would not exist without the pursuit of "oddball" biological research.
Who Funded That? The Names Behind the Research in Pacific Standard
The names and numbers behind the research in the January/February 2014 print issue of Pacific Standard.
Who Funded That? The Names Behind the Research in Pacific Standard
The names and numbers behind the research in the November/December 2013 issue of Pacific Standard.
Private Prisons Can’t Lock In Savings
A report from The Sentencing Project argues that a primary driver for privatizing corrections isn’t really paying off.
If LSU Cuts Football, Academia Can Panic
Regarding the crisis in American research universities, Louisiana State University System President John V. Lombardi argues that when athletics are on the cutting block, he'll see that as a sign of disaster.
Consistency Key to Renewable Energy Policy
A new report on funding renewable energy projects offers a primer on how policy decisions are best engineered to boost the industry.
Innovation Must Get in Line for Academic Funding
In a Q&A session, computer scientist Francine Berman, vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, explains how funding decisions made in Washington help or hinder innovation at universities.
Are Professors Picking the Public's Pockets?
High-flying professor Tatsuya Suda's double-billing antics highlight the loose controls on the off-campus earnings of research university academics.
Crowdfunding Puts Money with Public Interest
Tired of the old system of state and institutional funding, many wanting to push a creative project or a pet cause are turning to crowdfunding.
States Prove Weak Link in Supporting Research Universities
In a Q&A, historian Robert M. Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, (since retired) describes how fiscal pressures at the state level undermine research universities already battered by the recession.
Retaining Excellence in U.S. Research Universities
In a series of upcoming Q&A sessions, academics and other observers will review the fiscal and competitive challenges facing U.S. research institutions and what might solve them.
Public Media Trust Proposed to Preserve Public Broadcasting
Efforts to defund public broadcasting arrive as the commercial model of broadcasting shows its qualitative seams.
Universal Service Fund Focus on Phones Out of Date
A federal program to provide phone lines to every cranny of the United States really ought to be focusing on broadband.
Will State Budget Cuts Stop Federal Arts Funding?
State arts agencies, which provide vital funding and assistance to nonprofit arts institutions, are threatened with extinction across the U.S.