I think the auther of this article wasn't very careful.

"Radars cannot track small debris in the same manner as larger objects. We do a statistical evaluation, based on optical observations of particles as small as two millimeters. We can see them, but we don't know where they'll be tomorrow. We do assessments of probabilities of how many particles are at what altitude," Johnson said.

I know Nick Johnson and I can't imagine him implying that optical sensors are more important for detecting small debris than radar. Also, I doubt Universities would be able to pick up the slack on this one. I'm sure they could fund a debris campaign. The article only mentioned NASA. I assume DoD is continuing its program. I'm not sure the military would allow universities access to assets like NAVSPACAUR.

Dave M