"Literally from the moment I came in the door of MIT, it was very clear that a highly productive 40-year partnership between U.S. research universities and the federal government was badly eroding"

This quote by Charles Vest speaks to the deteriorating relationship in between U.S. research study universities and the federal government. Vest is suggesting that when he got to MIT, it was currently evident that the partnership in between the two entities remained in decrease. This suggests that the collaboration had been strong in the past, but was now damaging. Vest's statement implies that the federal government was not providing the very same level of support to research study universities as it had in the past. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as spending plan cuts, changes in policy, or a shift in concerns. Whatever the cause, Vest's quote suggests that the partnership between U.S. research universities and the federal government remained in a state of decrease.