Washington — Tucked into a spending bill that the U.S. Senate passed over the weekend are thousands of set-asides for pork-barrel projects, including many at colleges and universities.

According to a tally by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group, there are 2,321 earmarks totaling $6.6-billion in the bill, which would provide funds for three federal agencies in the 2009 fiscal year, while financing most others at this year’s levels until March. Among the earmarks for colleges and universities are: $2-million for “hibernation genomics” research at the University of Alaska, secured by Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican who is on trial for allegedly lying on his financial-disclosure forms and concealing thousands of dollars in gifts. The project, which has received earmarks in the past, is investigating using hibernation to treat traumatic battlefield injuries.

$1.6-million for “low-temperature vehicle-performance” research at Wayne State University, double what the program received in 2008. That earmark was secured by Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat of Michigan.

Last year legislators channeled more than 2,300 such projects to 920 institutions, mostly for research, according to a Chronicle analysis. —Kelly Field