South SFV Today

Jonathan Levin, president of Stanford University and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), emphasized the role of universities in economic growth during the 2025 SIEPR Economic Summit. Levin highlighted that many leaders in artificial intelligence, such as Google, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Anthropic, have founders who are Stanford alumni. He pointed out that academic research is foundational to today's AI models.

Levin discussed with Neale Mahoney, Trione Director of SIEPR and an economics professor at Stanford, about the importance of federal funding for academic research. He noted that for every dollar Stanford receives in federal grants, 72 cents go directly to researchers while 28 cents cover infrastructure costs like labs and support staff. A significant portion of this infrastructure funding is threatened due to potential cutbacks by the National Institutes of Health.

Levin expressed the need for efficient use of taxpayer dollars while recognizing the value of federally funded research. "Every study of investment in university research has found that a dollar put into university research and science has a payoff of multiple dollars over time in social benefits," he stated.

Additionally, Levin addressed concerns regarding increased taxes on income from university endowments. He acknowledged criticism about how universities manage their endowments but stressed their importance for long-term sustainability. "There's a sense that we drifted away from many people in the country and got out of touch," Levin said. "We have to take that critique seriously."

The summit highlighted ongoing challenges faced by institutions like Stanford amidst changes in federal policy and public perception.