Go after funds to protect university (6)
I believe the answer is:
pursue
'go after' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'funds to protect university' is the wordplay.
'funds' becomes 'purse' (I've seen this before).
'to protect' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'university' becomes 'u'.
'purse' enclosing 'u' is 'PURSUE'.
(Other definitions for pursue that I've seen before include "Chase, run after" , "Try to win" , "Engage in or chase after" , "Follow up on or go after" , "Be engaged in - hunt" .)