Federal stimulus spending may evoke images of hard hats and road construction, but around $14 million has been allocated for projects at Montana State University that range from researching volcanic action in the Andes mountains and treatment of periodontal disease to funding to assist with productions of Shakespeare.
A total of $14.38 million in federal stimulus funds has been allocated for about 35 different projects to date at Montana State University, according to university officials. The grants are funded by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February to spur economic growth and create jobs.
Critics of the funding say it misses the mark of the goals set by Congress and amounts to wasteful spending. Supporters say the research does have an economic impact and will produce numerous long-term positive benefits.
The spending was criticized by National Taxpayers Union Vice President for Politics and Communication Pete Sepp. He said many taxpayers think of stimulus spending as long-term job creation in the private sector and not “expeditions to the Andes or, more up close, expeditions into people’s gums.”
Around $400,000 has been allocated for a study of the “relationship between pluton growth & volcanism at two active intrusions in the central Andes,” with another $391,875 for research into “combinatorial therapy for treatment of periodontal disease.”
Todd Feeley, associate professor of geology at MSU, said the grant to study volcanic activity will provide employment for one graduate student for two years to assist him in looking at lava flows from previous volcanic activity in the Andes and related work. He said that experience should help the student gain experience and hopefully assist them in finding permanent employment after their studies.
Feeley said increased research funding also makes science a more appealing field. “More young people are going to want to go into science…if they see there’s more opportunity,” he said.
Stimulus funding listed by the university also includes $25,000 to pay partial salaries for two full-time employees for Shakespeare in the Park.
“Shakespeare in the Park brings a cultural opportunity to rural communities throughout Montana that otherwise would not have those opportunities,” said MSU News Service Director Tracy Ellig.
Sepp said families who are struggling with the cost to send their children to college may not see the benefit of spending stimulus funds on such projects, particularly when the cost may fall to future generations.
“They’re the ones who are paying for those projects, in the end,” Sepp said of college students.
Ellig said most of the projects could be characterized as basic research and could have “enormous implications for protecting America’s health.”
“The value of basic research can be difficult to quantify,” Ellig said. “However, it can have enormous, unanticipated payoffs in the future.”
As examples, Ellig pointed to a $447,000 study of viruses (Structural Studies of Crenaracheal Viruses) that he said could have application in combating airborne bio-terrorism at some future point. Ellig also said research is an important part of the work done at MSU.
In fiscal year 2009, MSU budgeted $98.4 million for research with most of the funding from federal grants, according to Ellig. That is up more than $2 million from research funding in fiscal year 2008. Ellig said it is too early to tell whether the stimulus funds will produce an overall boost to research funding in fiscal year 2010.
Sepp said the examples at MSU should be evidence enough to derail any thoughts of a second stimulus.
“(Those) who believe that ‘Stimulus Two’ is going to be any better than ‘Stimulus One’ need only take a look at examples like these,” Sepp said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.