Michael Morgan on Funding Science: Public vs Private
  Michael Morgan     Biography    
Recorded: 08 May 2008

A major difference is working for an organization that is not in a direct and immediate sense accountable to government and not bound by government rules. It means you can move very, very quickly. You can make decisions quickly and because of the financial resources you can then put those actions into work. I’m sure it’s not that different to working for Howard Hughes or now the Gates Foundation. Very different than working for Genome Canada or and I’ve never worked for anybody else other than Genome Canada and Wellcome Trust but one can see the frustration of not being able to do things because of bureaucratic rules so I used to pride myself on being representing the 800 pound gorilla of the Wellcome Trust because if we thump the table and say we want to do it that way people listened and they knew that if they had the backing of the Trust we would deliver.

Michael Morgan, currently professor emeritus of biology, specialized in plant ecology and bioclimatology. He earned his BA from Butler University, MS and Ph.D form University of Illinois. He received the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Founders's Association Award for Excellence in Teaching and Sabbatical during the 1991-92 academic year with the Conservation Research Group, School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Michael Morgan is a member of American Association for the Advancement of Science, Ecological Society of America, American Institute of Biological Sciences, Society for Conservation Biology and Natural Areas Association.

More Information: UWGB