ABSTRACT
Since 1960 the American research university has been known as “The Knowledge Factory,” a tribute to its capacity to sponsor large scale research and development projects and to attract requisite scholarly talent of faculty and graduate students to fulfill research goals. Reliance on external funding, however, adds a complication in terms of how the overall institutional mission is maintained and driven in light of the magnetism of outside support. Furthermore, the uneven distribution of research funds across fields, departments and topics raises continual questions of how academic leaders determine what is to be studied and what is to be given scant attention. External funding sources also tend to be fickle, as their vacillation in priorities are then transferred to those making estimates and plans internally within colleges and universities. One artifact of the importance of major research in academia is the Association of American Universities, a consortium and alliance of about 62 high powered research universities.
