Changing Organizational Beliefs Of State Funded Research...

Introduction In 1998, University of Berkeley sought research funding through a deal with the company Novartis. The institution faced considerable controversy and backlash as many felt that such a deal violated what they deemed to be a university’s role and obligation to its community. Their belief that a partnership with such a large industry player would take away from the research that has benefited the citizens surrounding Berkeley and the state of California, overall. Faculty organizers of the deal argued that the deal would be advantageous due to the steep competition for state funding of research efforts. In addition, the deal would open up access to biological information held by Novartis, providing students and faculty with†¦show more content†¦By the 1980s, government funding for academic research waned, but still remained as the primary source of capital for research endeavors. As bio-technology needs began to dominate the needs of the science community, th e expensive sector of research became a major slice of the scientific initiatives. Luckily, universities struggling to find ways to obtain funding of new explorations were met with potentially beneficial policy changes encouraging industry partnership with university research. In the 90s, Berkeley was among the universities seeking to increase funding for research initiatives. To keep its research cutting-edge, an advisory board was created to attract financing. Wilhelm Gruissmen, a professor of plant biology, and Gordon Rausser, the Dean of the College of Natural Resources, spearheaded the tasks. The board originally proposed for companies to contribute cash to support the work of the PMB students, but this funding was not enough. Another working group was formed to seek other solutions. This group solicited to large bio-technical and genetics firms. In the end, a relatively new company, Novartis was chosen as it most aligned with Berkeley s goals. Discussion and Recommendations American universities have unique organizational compositions. Vastly hierarchical, many departments and units come together to makeup individual colleges competing for a share of the sacred resources. Despite these divisions,