New Collaboration Underscores Essential Role of University Research in Addressing Societal Problems
Pew-hosted council gathers research funders, university leaders to better link research to solutions
In collaboration with Neeli Bendapudi, president of Penn State University, and the Impact Funders Forum, The Pew Charitable Trusts has launched the Presidents and Chancellors Council on Public Impact Research. This forum enables leaders in higher education to collaborate with thought leaders and decision-makers in funding organizations, government, and other sectors to maximize universities’ contributions to the public good through research and creative activity.
Facilitated by Pew, the council will work through the summer of 2026 to spotlight promising approaches to fostering research impact, including researcher-community partnerships, policy advising, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and translation of basic research findings for nonacademic uses. Simultaneously, council members will work within their home institutions and across higher education to strengthen incentives and infrastructure for these approaches. The council’s focus areas include funding structures, faculty promotion and tenure systems, research impact metrics, and research culture (for example, researcher training environments)—all key mechanisms that help university research serve and benefit the public.
The council’s efforts build on several years of encouraging progress in funding organizations, universities, and disciplinary societies to recognize and reward researchers’ contributions to both their scholarly disciplines and the public good. By collaborating with philanthropic and government funders, the council can identify and advance specific, tangible actions to accelerate this progress.
The council is led by a steering committee made up of President Bendapudi, Francine Conway (chancellor, Rutgers University-New Brunswick), Ana Mari Cauce (president, University of Washington), and Vincent E. Price (president, Duke University). Get to know the council’s members below and return to this page for updates on their work.
Members of the Presidents and Chancellors Council on Public Impact Research
- Jonathan R. Alger—president, American University
- Gilda Barabino—president, Olin College of Engineering
- Neeli Bendapudi—president, Penn State University
- Graham Carr—president, Concordia University
- Ana Mari Cauce—president, University of Washington
- Francine Conway—chancellor, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
- Ann Cudd—president, Portland State University
- Reginald DesRoches—president, Rice University
- Michael V. Drake—president, University of California
- Taylor Eighmy—president, University of Texas at San Antonio
- Joy Johnson—president, Simon Fraser University
- Tomikia P. LeGrande—president, Prairie View A&M University
- Richard K. Lyons—chancellor, University of California, Berkeley
- Christina H. Paxson—president, Brown University
- Vincent E. Price—president, Duke University
- Havidán Rodríguez—president, the University at Albany (State University of New York)
- Marlene Tromp—president, Boise State University
- David K. Wilson—president, Morgan State University