Election Transforms Washington
BU IN DC
Congress may have been out of session, but BU faculty and staff had plenty of reasons to come to Washington, D.C., since the last edition of Beltway BUzz. Here are just a few, stay tuned for more next week.
Jennifer Bender of the College of Arts & Sciences attended the Our Ocean conference hosted by the U.S. Department of State on September 15 and 16.
Cheryl Constantine of the School of Law met with Congressional staff as part of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators advocacy day on October 4.
Judith Jones of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine participated in a Congressional briefing on oral health on October 4.
Arturo Vegas of the College of Arts & Sciences gave a presentation to Congressional staff on Type 1 diabetes research on October 5.
Michael Meurer of the School of Law spoke about patent trolls at a National Press Club event hosted by the American Antitrust Institute and the Computer & Communications Industry Association event on October 6.
Andrew Bacevich of the College of Arts & Sciences and the Pardee School of Global Studies spoke at a conference on terrorism policy in the next Administration hosted by the New America Foundation on October 19.
ELECTION TRANSFORMS WASHINGTON
On Tuesday, Donald J. Trump was elected as the next President of the United States, upsetting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The focus in Washington will now shift to who the President-elect plans to appoint to his cabinet and other key positions. While higher education and research issues were not a significant focus of his campaign, Trump has highlighted college affordability as a concern, suggested requiring colleges use endowment funds to lower costs, and indicated an interest in reducing regulations impacting higher education.
Republicans will also retain control of both chambers of Congress and the leadership of pivotal Congressional committees. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Representative Virginia Foxx (R-VA) are expected to lead their chambers’ education committees; both are advocates for reducing regulatory burden on colleges. Many champions of scientific research won their respective campaigns and will be returning to Congress to advocate for increased research funding in a tight budgetary environment.
BU Federal Relations will continue to monitor developments as the new Administration and Congress make key appointments and governing decisions in the weeks ahead.
BUZZ BITS…
- Thomas Zurbuchen, previously a professor at the University of Michigan, has been appointed as the new associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- The National Science and Technology Council released its national strategic plan for artificial intelligence research.
- The National Science and Technology Council is also soliciting input for the development of a national ocean research plan. Comments are due by January 1, 2017.
- The U.S. Department of Education released its final borrower defense regulations, clarifying the process for student loan borrowers to have their loans forgiven in the event of misconduct by a college or university.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
BU Research will host its next Research on Tap on November 15. Shaping the New Human-Technology Frontier will convene scholars from across BU who develop technology that impacts human health and function, who study technology’s impact on behavior and social organizations, and who consider the implications of new technologies on privacy and security. Following a series of 3-minute microtalks by the presenters, a networking reception will enable attendees to meet potential research collaborators.