Congress Sends $1.3 Billion to Colleges in Federal Earmarks

From protecting reefs and fighting climate change to purchasing a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer, projects for colleges and universities funded in the latest federal budget run a wide gamut. Colleges and universities are planning to put more than $1.3 billion to work on one-time purchases of equipment such as the University of Nevada at Reno’s $2.4 million spectrometer or, in other cases, to start new academic programs that administrators say will address critical needs in their communities. The largest chunk of the money—more than half of the money—will go to university hospitals, healthcare programs, science and research.