Going through a company like MOSIS is the best bet for university research. You get access to modern processes and reduced cost by sharing a wafer. Running your own out of date fab is dumb and expensive. One of the cheapest processes they have is ON Semi 0.5um. That is the one my school offered for free to students taking a CMOS layout class for undergrads. After the final project was turned in, the professor would off anyone with a working design the chance to get their layout made. You'd have to write a report on how well the run went (for MOSIS, the school didn't care since this was well after the semester was over).