THE PARTNERSHIP of the Federal Government and the Nation's universities in carrying forward man's quest for knowledge has produced enormous dividends in the past two decades.
It has been an enlightened partnership. It must remain so. Creative research through free inquiry is the working way to new greatness in our society. It can open roads to
--man's mastery of his environment,
--sufficient food, water, and energy to sustain the massed population that is making ours a crowded planet,
--the building of corridors linking the earth to the stars,
--ultimate victory over the tragedy of mental and physical afflictions, and
--progress in helping man live in peace with his neighbor.
So as a Nation we are committed to strengthen and nourish what Vannevar Bush once called "Science, the Endless Frontier."
Federal grants for academic research perform an indispensable role in strengthening science education in our colleges and universities.
I am happy to see that the Congress is acting on my recommendation to remove the statutory restrictions which have restricted us in reimbursing colleges and universities for the indirect costs of doing research under Federal grants. The Congress is acting wisely. The Government and the research community both owe thanks--to the men and women in the Congress who are making this progress possible and to citizens like yourselves who have helped your Government to understand the needs of the academic institutions.
The universities will, under the new legislation, share to some extent in the cost of research projects. We intend to see that this requirement is administered--as I know the Congress meant it to be--in a constructive and reasonable way.
Our hopes demand new excellence in academic science. It must have the talent, the resources, the faith, and the freedom to prosper.
Government's part in meeting this challenge is of critical importance. We will help
--to bring educational opportunities to our gifted young people,
--to build the new facilities that higher education needs,
--to create new centers of excellence, and
--to meet the costs of creative scientific research,
I know that America's colleges and universities, which you gentlemen represent, will continue to help your country in every possible way.
Note: The President's statement was made public following a meeting with the following representatives of university boards of trustees: Juan Trippe, Yale; Arnold Beckman, California Tech; Arthur Dean, Cornell; R. Keith Kane, Harvard; Marion Folsom, Rochester; Maurice P. Moore, Columbia; Bryant Leeb, Princeton; and David Packard, Stanford.
The White House stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the removal of the ceilings that had heretofore been applied on overhead. In the past, because of stipulations in appropriation bills, the Government had been restricted to paying 15 (later 20) percent of overhead costs. The last of these stipulations had been removed that day by the conference committee dealing with the military appropriations bill. Now that the restrictions had been removed, the universities would no longer find it necessary to take funds from administrative sources or faculty salaries to pay overhead costs, which had been as high as 35 to 40 percent of the cost on some projects.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on Federal Grants for Academic Research. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240499