,72 SEA GRANT COLLEGES 



The record of productive research and high quality graduate training by ex- 

 periment station scientists gives support to the institutional grant concept. Under 

 the Hatch program, the experiment station director has the responsibility for 

 making the decision on distribution of time between research and teaching. Re- 

 search assignments are reviewed periodically to determine progress being made. 



STRENGTHENING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS BY 

 WIDER USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR RESEARCH 



The hearings referred to above placed special emphasis on the need for fed- 

 eral granting agencies, in accomplishing their missions, to consider strength- 

 ening the academic institutions of the nation. 



On September 14, 1965, President Johnson issued a new policy statement 

 on the use of federal research funds to aid in strengthening educational institu- 

 tions while performing research relative to the mission of the agency. The 

 Presidnt stated: 



"The purpose of the new policy statement I am issuing today is to 

 insure that our programs for federal support of research in colleges 

 and universities contribute more to the long run strengthening of the 

 universities and colleges so that these institutions can best serve the 

 nation in the years ahead." 



The President particularly mentioned the concentration of funds in "too 

 few institutions in too few areas of the country" and the need for providing sup- 

 port "under terms which give the university and the investigator wider scope 

 for inquiry, as contrasted with highly specific, narrowly defined projects." 



SUMMARY 



1. By means of historical review special emphasis has been given to the 

 federal government (USDA) and land- grant college relationships in the adminis- 

 tration of research supported by federal funds at the state agricultural experi- 

 ment stations. 



2. Through the cooperative development of administrative procedures the 

 experiment stations have been concerned with problems of conflict in the use of 

 Hatch Act funds, problems of relationships to the parent land- grant institutions 

 and problems of inadequate research program planning and coordination among 

 the states and between the states and the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture. Much progress has been made. The experiment station concept provides 

 a pattern of cooperative activity that combines with local individualism and re- 

 sponsibility the benefits of centralized planning. The future offers even a greater 

 potential for more effective programs of agricultural research through greater 

 use by the state stations and the federal government of expanding opportunities 

 for joint planning and cooperation in research. 



3. The Hatch Experiment Station (institutional grant) Act has contributed 

 in many ways to the development of research competence through the nation. 

 Federal funds for agricultural research have stimulated the states to provide 

 from state sources nearly $4 for each federal dollar (based on an average of all 

 the states.) 



4. The interrelated discipline approach required in agricultural research 

 has produced scientific strength at the land- grant colleges. The continuing chal- 

 lenge in agricultural science is to seek cooperation that will make it possible to 

 determine the interaction of various sciences for progress on agricultural prob- 

 lems. 



46 



