The Smithsonian will close its diversity office and freeze federal hiring
Jan. 29, 2025 - The Smithsonian isn't a federal agency, but it gets much of its funding from federal appropriations.
Higher Ed Policy and Budget Announcements
DOGE blocked from accessing Education Department’s sensitive student data until March 10
Feb. 24, 2025 - A judge said the Trump administration failed to explain why the Department of Government Efficiency needed “sweeping access” to the agency’s records.
Canceled meetings and confusion: NIH grant funding in limbo despite court injunction | WBUR News
Feb. 24, 2025 - Researchers awaiting NIH funding say their grant meetings are being canceled, despite a court order blocking the Trump administration from freezing federal funds.
Northwestern Libraries’ website removes DEI mention as University responds to executive orders
Feb. 23, 2025 - Northwestern Libraries removed the mention of diversity on its website, following President Donald Trump’s executive orders against DEI initiatives.
Senate alleges $4.9 million in Vanderbilt and VUMC NSF-funded research as promoting ‘far-left ideology’
Feb. 24, 2025 - U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) flagged 3,483 NSF grants, including 15 awarded to Vanderbilt.
Penn schools scrubbed their DEI websites. Here’s what’s left.
Feb. 24, 2025 - Four undergraduate and 12 graduate schools have scrubbed references to diversity, equity, and inclusion from their respective webpages over the past two weeks.
Officials tack on additional leadership review for hiring, promotions to preserve GW’s ‘limited’ resources
Feb. 24, 2025 - Officials will add another step to the approval process for faculty and staff hiring and promotions to protect GW’s “limited” resources.
PhD admission decrease won’t affect research goals, University says
Jan. 28, 2025 - PhD budget growth is set to be reduced from 6% to 4% through reduced admissions targets.
Social Security Slashes Cooperative Agreements
Feb. 21, 2025 - The Social Security Administration today announced the termination of their Retirement and Disability Research Consortium (RDRC) cooperative agreements.
U.S. Department of Education Cancels Divisive and Wasteful Grants under the Comprehensive Centers Program
Feb. 19, 2025 - The U.S. Department of Education cancelled 18 grants totaling $226 million that were awarded under the Comprehensive Centers Program.
UC San Diego, bracing for more than $200M in funding cuts, freezes faculty hiring
Feb. 20, 2025 - ‘This is the biggest financial challenge in UCSD’s history,’ said Terry Gaasterland, a longtime faculty member.
University of Louisville announces 5-month hiring freeze amid 'volatility' in federal funding
Feb. 21, 2025 - The University of Louisville placed an "immediate pause" on all faculty and staff positions until July 15.
Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)
Crowdsourced list of programs that have announced cuts to graduate admissions
Penn to reduce graduate admissions, rescind acceptances amid federal research funding cuts
Feb. 21, 2025 - Penn notified department chairs that it will cut admissions across graduate programs.
The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty
Feb. 21, 2025 - The school has "temporarily paused additional Ph.D. offers of admission," while Pitt works to understand how proposed federal funding cuts could play out.
NIH funding freeze stalls applications on $1.5 billion in medical research funds
Feb. 22, 2025 - NIH had to stop considering new grant applications, delaying funding for research into diseases ranging from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer's and allergies.
N.I.H. Research Grants Lag $1 Billion Behind Last Year’s
Feb. 14, 2025 - Federal spending records show the allocations are about $1 billion lower than last year’s disbursements were at this time.
Trump Administration Stalls Scientific Research Despite Court Ruling
Feb. 21, 2025 - Using an arcane law, officials have effectively delayed funding from the National Institutes of Health, leaving medical studies in jeopardy.
Opinion: I’m an NIH-funded researcher, drowning in uncertainty
Feb. 21, 2025 - “I’ll keep doing what I can to move my research forward. But I, and so many others, can’t do this indefinitely,” this assistant professor writes.
NEH Implementation of Recent Executive Orders
Feb. 11, 2025 - To comply with recent Executive Orders, NEH is adding several new prohibited categories to the Funding Restrictions section of its NOFOs.
NIH funding cuts could devastate health, science research in NJ | NJ Spotlight News
Feb. 12, 2024 - Academics fear the costs for scienctific research, higher education and public health if Trump NIH cuts go ahead.
New guidelines to support financial stability | UIC today
Feb. 21, 2025 - Formal approval is now required for new hires, high dollar investments, and future funding commitments, including faculty startup packages or other multiyear financial obligations.
‘Cowardliness at the top’: Science agency staff revolt over cuts
Feb. 20, 2025 - The NSF went beyond the staff cuts demanded by the Trump administration in a move that set off a frenzied backlash at the science funding agency.
University of Hawaii removes ‘diversity’ from key office in effort to safeguard federal funding
Feb. 19, 2025 - UH president Wendy Hensel says the university could lose nearly $400 million in federal funding if it doesn’t comply with President Trump's executive order.
Trump’s siege of science: how the first 30 days unfolded and what’s next
Feb. 20, 2025 - Experts warn there might be more disruption to come. Many of the policies rolled out so far track with proposals put forth in Project 2025.
Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research
Feb. 19, 2025 - In response to Trump science policies, universities are accepting fewer graduate students than normal and freezing positions.
Have Trump’s anti-DEI orders hit private funders? HHMI halts inclusive science programme
Feb. 7, 2025 - The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a huge funder of biomedical research, has cut a $60-million initiative to boost diversity in science education.
Kentucky lawmakers seek to weaken tenure, restrict DEI
Feb. 20, 2025 - A pair of Kentucky bills introduced this month by Republican lawmakers could weaken tenure and diversity, equity and inclusion effort.
Virginia Tech | Message from Provost and COO: Update on National Institutes of Health (NIH) F&A Funding Cap
Feb. 11, 2025 - Considering that other federal agencies may also reduce F&A costs, VT encourages PIs in the interim to limit expenditures funded by returned overhead.
Budget Planning and Potential Freezes | Office of the Provost | Washington State University
Feb. 10, 2025 - WSU System to evaluate its budget with a focus on scenario planning for near-term futures where reductions are necessary.