134 



TESTIMONY BEFORE 



THE HOUSE AGRICULTURAL SUBCOMMITTEE 



ON DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS AND NUTRITION 



June 17, 1993 



PRIORITY SETTING FOR BUILDINGS AND FACILmES 



Charles E. Hess 



Professor 



University of California 



Davis, California 



My name is Charles E. Hess. I am a member of the faculty of the College of Agricultural and 

 Environmental Sciences at the University of California - Davis, and Director of International 

 Programs for the College. From May of 1989 to October of 1991 I served as the Assistant 

 Secretary of Agriculture for Science and Education at the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Finding fiinds to construct new research facilities or to renovate existing ones has always been 

 a challenge, now acerbated by declining funds at the state level. At the same time, at least until 

 very recently, the scientific community has grown and the research has become more 

 sophisticated and requires state-of-the-art facilities. The annual reports of the National Science 

 Foundation on Scientific and Engineering Research Facilities as Universities and Colleges 

 provides an indication of the needs. Although the net square feet (NASF) suitable for the most 

 scientifically sophisticated research increased from 26.7 NASF in 1988 to 32.7 NASF in 1992, 

 the universities still reported that the percent of their total space suitable for use in most 

 scientifically sophisticated research increased from only 24% in 1988 to 27% in 1992. In 1992, 



