Although Northwestern has settled its lawsuit with the Justice Department over charges that it billed the U.S. improperly for federally funded research, the university has yet to settle the problems this case raises about its research infrastructure.
Since University President Henry Bienen took charge in 1995, the amount of federal research money NU receives has more than doubled. But the university has not increased the number of compliance officers to the levels necessary to avoid major mistakes.
Because the university has not admitted wrongdoing in the settlement and has not discussed many aspects of the allegations on the record, the public still does not know how NU came to bill the government for more time than it actually spent on research projects.
This is unfortunate, because if NU really wants to be a top-notch research university, it can’t afford embarrassing mistakes such as this one.
In the coming months, the administration should, at a minimum, redouble its compliance efforts and ensure that research is adequately supported. Our reputation as a school depends on it.