This grant would provide partial support for a proposed 18-month National Academies study to assess the financial, organizational, and intellectual health of U.S. research universities. This assessment has been requested by a bipartisan group of four influential members of Congress: Senators Barbara Mikulski and Lamar Alexander, and Representatives Bart Gordon and Ralph Hall. Research universities are central to most Sloan programs and the Foundation has a longstanding interest in their financial, organizational, and intellectual strength. The health of many of these institutions is arguably in question now, due to the severe fiscal problems faced by most state governments that have led to sharp budget stringencies on public research universities, and the parallel endowment declines and other financial challenges being faced by private research universities. Funds from this grant represent 20 percent of the total study budget of $1.5 million.