As a result of investigations into overhead charges at Stanford University (California), lawmakers and federal agency officials are seeking ways to prevent universities from overcharging the government for indirect costs and ways to improve federal oversight of government payments. (DB)

Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program has inspired heated debate on campuses, and many scientists have pledged not to accept federal money for SDI research, for a variety of political, economic, and scientific reasons. (MSE)

Community-based research projects, a minute portion of the total amount government, industry, and foundations spend money on, are beginning to generate attention among policymakers because of their power to meet the needs of ordinary citizens, especially the disadvantaged. Currently, the incentives for researchers and institutions to pursue such…

Congressional investigations into university overhead charges, especially those at Stanford University (California), for federally sponsored research are leading universities to reexamine and change some policies, including charging some housing costs for university officers to government contracts. (DB)

A legislative proposal by the Association of American Universities calls for creation of a federal agency similar to the National Science Foundation to develop and promote a national policy of support for foreign language, area, and international studies research and instruction at colleges, universities, and other institutions. (MSE)