07/03/2025
Universities and R&D in the New United States
UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla described onstage at Future in Review 2025 the critical role of the American university in innovation and what could be lost if federal funding is pulled. He explained that particularly hurt would be top-level research – something institutions cannot fix on their own.
On the possibility of replacing the sheer number of dollars lost in federal funding, Khosla noted that clearly universities will need to target philanthropic organizations and individuals. But, he warned, “remember, $60 billion is the US investment in universities on a yearly basis for research, ok? Generating that money out of private philanthropy, foundations, companies, is nearly, nearly impossible. So, we will sort of shrink our appetite, think about 'What are we going to eat?'? [...] Second, we will have to [...] organize this community [...] to make the case. Higher education is a $700 billion-a-year industry. If you trash this industry, let's say bring it down to 350 or 400 billion, a lot of job losses are going to happen, a lot of competitive edge is going to be lost. Fewer students are going to be trained and graduated. So the impact on the country is very, very significant.”
Khosla questioned the ability of universities to even survive with such massive losses in funding, and of the US to continue leading in education.
Click through to see the full, hard-hitting session on what we can expect to see as the new global order takes shape today, and what policies, polities, and parties may emerge as a result.
https://youtu.be/Z5uk69iMyyE
(🔗 in bio)
