This interesting and relevant piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education says the Association of American Universities is asking government bodies to explore trimming down the number of research universities.

While they have not made a formal push for the measure, they have asked for a study on the matter, citing financial constraints of the country. They say there should be fewer, but better research universities.

Of course, the group is made up of 62 schools that claim to be the finest research universities, and would like to simply better themselves instead of share funding with the rest of the country’s similar institutions.

Now, as the stats in the article show, the groups’ universities “together award more than half of all doctoral degrees and 55 percent of science and engineering degrees in the country.”

So they have a legitimate argument.

However, as their website shows, Virginia Tech is not a member.

Opposition is expected, and Tech will almost certainly be a school that has a problem with the idea. Tech has lofty goals related to research and is only expanding its research horizons.

Faculty and students are pushed strongly in the direction of research in hopes of becoming one of the front running research institutions. If the AAU’s ideas are accepted, Tech may need to move in the direction of research faster for funding to continue. Zc