Wallm Street has a story ‘Once Collegial, Research Schools now Mean Business’ representing changing climate at research universities. Though the story talks about a professor from Arizona State, this is no exception. The situation is similar at many places.
Academic climate has changed and it is likely to get worse before it turns around. In addition to funding situation, another difficult situation is reduction in number of quality students coming from the two major suppliers of graduate students to USA — India and China. This is what is leading to the innovation crisis in USA.