VP of federal relations Chris Simmons talks future of federal research funding at Duke

<p>Simmons noted that the University&nbsp;has not decided whether it will advocate for the Trump administration to maintain the “Dear Colleague” letter on Title IX.</p>

Simmons noted that the University has not decided whether it will advocate for the Trump administration to maintain the “Dear Colleague” letter on Title IX.

In a previous Chronicle article, Chris Simmons, associate vice president of federal relations, said there was considerable uncertainty about what a Donald Trump presidency would mean for research funding at Duke. At the University, Simmons is responsible for much of the lobbying Duke does on Capitol Hill to secure its academic and financial interests. The Chronicle followed up with Simmons after the election to get his take on what a Trump presidency means for Duke. 

The Chronicle: How do you assess the future of research at Duke post-election?

Chris Simmons: I think the future of research in general at Duke is very bright and very positive. How that is going to be impacted by the decisions that Congress and the president-elect make in the next few years—we just don’t know. Congress is involved with research that we care about—biomedical research, research that helps the Department of Defense, research in natural sciences. Those things are very bipartisan, and there’s generally a lot of support both from Republicans and Democrats, but we really do not know how exactly it will play out over the next few years, and whether there will be significant increases, decreases or even funding. 

Our goal is to push for increased funding because we really believe that it’s important for the future of the United States and that it’s important to being competitive internationally. It benefits everyone if we’re doing more and more research. Our largest funder of research at Duke and at most universities is the federal government.

TC: It has been reported that several pharmaceutical companies in Research Triangle Park support recently re-elected Republican senator Richard Burr for help he has given to the industry. Do you think his re-election will change the status quo with regards to medical research here?

CS: Senator Burr has been a big supporter and also a leader, especially in the area of National Institutes of Health research. He really believes in the importance of research and its positive impact on the economy in North Carolina, and I think that he’ll continue to be supportive of those initiatives and those federal programs.

TC: Will the University change its lobbying approach in any way, given that Trump has criticized the influence of lobbyists in the political process?

CS: Trump has never been an elected official, so he’s never been “lobbied” in the same way. But yes, I think that we will reevaluate our approach to both the new administration and also to a Congress that is Republican-controlled in both the House and the Senate to make sure that we’re making the arguments that best represent the institution. 

We’re trying to push for legislation and regulation that benefit our students, our faculty and their research and the institution as a whole. If there’s bad legislation—legislation that is not good for students, not good for faculty and research, not good for the institution—we will continue to fight that type of legislation and defeat it.

TC: Do you have any final comments about research at Duke in anticipation of the new administration?

CS: What I would say is that we need to continue to tell the good story about the research that we do at Duke—of how it benefits our economy, how it saves lives, how it makes a difference in the world. I believe that if we continue to tell those good stories from across the University, and highlight our faculty's efforts, we will continue to see excellent funding from the federal government.

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