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Rich and prestigious institutions like Cal Tech, Harvard, M.I.T. and Stanford are able to dictate strong terms, including university control of patents and freedom to publish all research; the donor company usually just gets first bid on licensing. Says James Lewis, director of projects and grants at Columbia: "We want no publishing restrictions, no undue influence on courses and research, and no classified or secret research." But many universities accede to less favorable agreements. At Texas A & M, which gets 35% of its $30 million research budget from corporations, W. Arthur Porter, director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, acknowledges, "We're tied to delivering results."
Earlier this month, faculty members at Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley introduced an ingenious corporate structure to regulate funding and profits with less danger of compromising research priorities. They created a nonprofit Center for Biotechnology Research and have already raised $2.4 million from six major corporations, including General Foods and Bendix, to fund research. If the research develops into fruitful ventures, profits will come under the jurisdiction of a separate company called Engenics. Since the center owns 30% equity in Engenics, those profits will enable the center to aid university research, no strings attached. Says Harvey Blanch, U.C. professor of chemical engineering and a founder of Engenics: "I think this type of arrangement is a first." With Government grants decreasing and inflation pressing, it is not likely to be a last.—