Campus Corporate Funding on the Rise

Campus funding from corporate sponsors has seen a substantial increase in the past few years, leading many faculty to question the effects of corporate involvement in their research.

While most campus funds are derived from the federal and state government and individual donors, corporate sponsorship in the form of gifts and research contracts has increased, with such gifts making up 35.7 percent of all campus donations last year.

Gifts from corporations to UC Berkeley totalled $94.7 million last year, up from $22.2 million between 2002 and 2003, according to data from the UC Office of the President.

Research contracts between the campus and corporations, totalling $16.2 million in the last fiscal year, have seen a smaller increase up from $10.6 million in 2002, according to data from the campus’s Sponsored Projects Office.

Jeff Jackanicz, director of corporate and foundation relations within University Relations, said gifts are defined as gestures of goodwill and, unlike research contracts, are donated with no strings attached to help fund scholarships and fellowships, among other projects.

“We understand that it’s an area of some interest around the campus and that people are concerned that we’re always building the kind of partnerships with companies ... that (respect) the campus’s academic integrity and academic freedom,” Jackanicz said. “We believe that it’s possible to do that and partner with these corporations.”

But some officials said campus-corporation relationships should be executed with caution even if no conditions are attached.

Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health, said he would rather accept money from corporations as gifts rather than contracts, though even then he would have reservations.

“I think it’s an unfortunate situation that the university has to rely on private funding to do research which is in the public good,” Moskowitz said, citing the university’s policy of accepting money from the tobacco industry for faculty grants.

The largest corporate gifts given to the campus last year came from Gilead Sciences Inc., Microsoft Corporation and Amgen Inc., according to data from University Relations.

Research contracts between the university and corporations have elicited even heavier criticism than gifts, as many worry that corporations could influence the resulting research. The campus’s $500 million contract with energy giant BP, signed earlier this month, prompted vocal complaints from across the campus community.

But some officials said corporations may allow universities more control than federal funds since statutes regulating the terms of research contracts may restrict negotiation possibilities, said Sean O’Connor, visiting professor at Boalt Hall School of Law.

“It’s easier to walk away from a (corporation) and just not do the deal, whereas the government side is on fixed terms,” he said.

But other faculty said that, while negotiations are possible in corporate contracts, research may not be protected.

“I have reservations about corporations funding universities, particularly public universities ... in that I think the research has shown from a variety of areas ... that integrity of the research is inadequately protected in the contracts that are signed by the universities,” Moskowitz said.

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