PENNSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY CLARIFIES ITS POLICY ON SECRET RESEARCH CONTRACTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000401020009-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 24, 2014
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: September 9, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

1\TVW V!"17:Yrr omit sr)c
Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2014/03/24: CIA-RDP73-00475R000401020009-2
Nbb
'Pennsylvania University Clerifies Its Policy
on Secret earch Contracts
.?
By MURRAY SCHUMACH i made: clear its intention of
Special to Tat New York Times 'avoiding future- cairtraots that
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 8? deny it the right' to publish re-
The faculty of the University search material. That decision
had been preceded by criticism
of Pennsylvania will receive _a of secrecy imposed on research
near-veto over ;future university contracts for the Government
contracts with the Government on chemical and biological war-
or private industry that limit fare.
the right to publish the results However, contrary to, a re-
of research, port in The New York Times
Under a proposal almost cer- on Monday, the university will
tam n of approval, a faculty corn- not cancel contracts it has al-
snittee of eight will pass on all ready undertaken that forbid
such contracts and will advise publication of research. But it
the. university president, Dr. will try to persuade' the Gov-
Gaylord P. Harnwell. Accord- ernment or the industry in-
ing to university authorities, volved in such contracts to drop
any strong opposition by the or ease such restrictions.
faculty committee to any such "We do not have the right to
contract will be heeded by Dr. abrogate a contract unilateral-
Barnwell. ly," Said Dr. David R. Goddard,
? The development comes a few provost of the university, in an
days after the university had interview today at his office
here. "We hope, in the future, to men *apse new committee and
have . acaciemid freedorn clearf the pligloitent of the university
across the board.
would , .
the other font.. 'rhe
"We will try to avoid all con- cha ho woulcMe one ofi
tracts in the future that limit the
publication of research. If there . . ould beinte./red by
is any question, such contracts',the presiLlett.
will be referred to the faculty Dr. Goddard'poinied out that.
committee, which will make its' in some calea secrecy Vs* not
recommendations to the presi- a matter of security 1'hii6 the
dent." , , university sometimet.'. &AS ie-
But,y search for private industry ondl
he said, the university
reserves the right of secrecy agrees to with publication,'
if a national state of emergency for a year te I) , the private'
Is declared and the national ne- sponsor's patent AignA.,-There
curity is .clearly endangered by' are other cases; he sa**1 con-
publication of research, tracts with ithe Gevernment
fle pointed out that it would that give the ?university access
have been a very grave error to private information, where
for university scientists to pub- "common sense dictates some:
lish research on nuclear fission limitation on peigicationA
when Hitler was trying to de- Unaffected by the unive*.sity's
velop an atomic bomb. 'positioh on' attempts to inipose
"We cannot be guilty of en- secrecy on research, Dr. God-
couraging a breach of nationaIdard said, are ideas and projects
security if there' is a state of undertaken by individuals on
national, emergency," he said. ,their own, without contract, or
The proposal for a faculty as members of Government
.committee to pass on contracts panels. Such work, he said, does
that impose secrecy' was put not involve university contracts.'
forward yesterday by the ad- "The university," he declared,
;v1sory committee of the 1.1niver- "believes in making a clear dis- ,
sity Senate, which is made ?up
of 1,100 of the university's
1,537 faculty members. Only
ithose with a rank of associate
:professor or higher are in the
'senate.
The proposal was announced
lby Dr. Julius Wishner, professor
of psychology, who is chairman
of the senate. It will be recom-
tinction between, what a man !
does as an individual and what '
he does under a, university
contract." . 1
He estimated that of the 800-
odd contracts the university has
with the Government and
industry, less than 20 were sub-
jects of controversy about
imended to the full senate at a secrecy. He said that as far 1
:meeting to be held late this back as last winter and spring,'
!month, the university had begun to re-1
The senate under this plan fuse contracts thst_restricted1
[would select four of the eight' freedom of publication.
Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2014/03/24: CIA-RDP73-00475R000401020009-2