UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 793, 1 October 1954, Page 5

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

Sir,-My attention has been drawn to a recent lengthy article by Professor Slater, of Victoria College, in which he seems mainly. concerned with my broadcast statement that "research should not be supported for research’s sake, etc." I am completely unrepentant and am at least in good company since practically the same view was expressed recently by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh in concluding his opening address to the British Association. Ido not believe that any man has the right to expect his fellows to maintain him permanently in relative comfort and security unless he is prepared to give some reasonable service in return, However, I believe that most of the apparent differences of opinion have their origin in misunderstandings almost inevitable when interpretations are based on _brief broadcast statements. Accordingly, I hope Professor Slater will visit Ruakura to see for himself my interpretation of research, I am sure he will find even more fundamental research being done there than in the University and for the same reasons as advanced by him. While I do not normally reply to newspaper correspondents, a recent letter by "E.H.O." intrigued me, since I also tend to use the same criterion of accuracy in assessing contributions on a subject with which I am relatively uneducated, and like "E,H.O." have generally found it a useful method, For his information, however, I was quite aware that the official grant for research in the University from the Education Department is £15,000. However, my information is that £5000 of this is earmarked in practice for training research personnel-really an educational function, The net figure is therefore £10,000 as a direct research contribution as stated in my broadcast. I would remind "E.H.O." that with four speakers on a twenty-minute panel, an average of five minutes per person, and a consequent necessity to summarise, it is hardly practicable to indulge, in the luxury of lengthy qualifications’ of every comment made in an im--promptu_. discussion. If time had been available, I could have gone even further than Professor Slater and "E.H.O." and pointed out that in addition to the £10,000 direct grant and the general funds available indirectly from the overall general education grant, if University personnel are really interested in research, special grants are made from other departments to certain University Schools for special applied research projects in medicine, defence and agriculture. None of these points, however, invelidate my main contention that the University should be better supplied with funds for research, ;

C. P.

McMEEKAN

Ruakura Animal Research Station.