IU aims to build federal funding

Congress has started assigning a larger number of funds to specific higher education projects, and IU has put itself in a position to secure some of that money. \nIU's executive director of federal relations John Walda has been IU's point man for collecting federal money since January 2002.\nTo date, IU has received $6.7 million in federal funding in the 2003 fiscal year, up from $3.4 million in 2002.\n"This year my hope is that we get at least as much as last year, but hopefully set a new mark," Walda said. "We are just learning now which of our projects will be federally funded for 2004."\nCurrently, there is a generous amount of federal money available for health-related research and almost anything to do with homeland security, Walda said.\nAs a result, three projects are emerging on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses to address these needs. \nA technology center at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis is in the works to act as a business incubator for life science-related businesses. \nThe other two funded projects are joint projects with Crane naval base -- one for maintenance of the naval fleet through computers and the other for a testing program at IU's Cyclotron Facility in Bloomington.\nAt the beginning of each fiscal year, Congress designates a certain amount of money to be spent for specific projects and research. The trick for universities like IU is to pitch a project the federal government wants to be completed. \nWalda and his office send out surveys to every faculty member at all eight IU campuses, and out of those surveys, Walda said he receives around 40 sound proposals.\n"We try to match what our faculty wants to do with what Washington is spending money on," Walda said. "The questionnaires for this year are due back in my office this month and we will begin to evaluate them and develop next year's priority list. After next year we'll take those to Washington and develop support for them."\nWalda said he talks to members of Congress and chairmen of oversight committees in order to gain support for IU projects.\n"Each member of Congress has his or her own interests," Walda said. "We want to find something in an area of interest for our representatives."\nIn the cases of Rep. Baron Hill and Sen. Evan Bayh, Walda found their interests to the tune of a $5 million national defense directive.\nWalda said five to six more projects are still pending, but he is looking forward to pitching as many as 10 new projects starting Jan. 1.\nIU board of trustees President Fred Eichhorn said he was pleased with Walda and his active pursuit of federal funding.\n"He is active and the fact that he's often in Washington does a lot of good because that's where he's supposed to be," Eichhorn said. "I know it's a priority of President (Adam) Herbert to increase federal funding."\nAs recently as 2001, $15 billion of total federal research funding was awarded, but less than $2 billion was originally designated for that total from the federal budget. The remaining $12 billion of that came from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.\nEichhorn said Walda and Herbert have a working relationship intent on the same goal.\n"Our job is to appoint a good president and the president's job is to get good people to lobby the government and involve the University where it should have a particular relationship," Eichhorn said.\n-- Contact senior writer Mitch Blacher at mblacher@indiana.edu.