Virginia Commonwealth University is getting high marks for admitting that the kinds of research contracts it had with Philip Morris USA were wrong and is shoring up its sagging national reputation.

A faculty study committee yesterday recommended that “research service agreements” such as the kind the school had with the tobacco giant not be repeated. While not shunning tobacco money, the panel said that restrictions should be made on corporate research contracts to ensure academic freedom.

“Their conclusion is not just understandable but correct,” Gregory Scholtz, associate secretary and director of academic freedom and governance at the Association of American University Professors in Washington, D.C. told me. “Maybe in the future, the administration will consult the faulty before they get into these kinds of deals,” he says.

Other nationsl groups and media are taking notice. The Chronicle of Higher Education, which has been critical of VCU's research policies, reported the panel's recommendations today.