6/6/25: ‘Integrity index’ flags universities with high retraction rates (Nature) A score based on indicators related to research quality could help to prevent institutions gaming the metrics that feed into conventional rankings. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01727-3
6/5/25: The future of government-funded research at universities (NPR) The Trump administration is now cutting or threatening to cut federal funding for research. So, what does that mean for universities as we know them? https://www.npr.org/2025/06/05/nx-s1-5418392/the-future-of-government-funded-research-at-universities
6/5/25: Trump Wants Grant Makers to Become Political Appointees (Inside Higher Ed) Officials say the policy, which would make it easier to fire thousands of government employees, is designed to increase accountability. But experts say it would increase corruption and threaten the nation’s health and economy. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/06/05/trump-policy-moves-make-grant-makers-political
See COGR’s comment letter here: https://www.cogr.edu/sites/default/files/Schedule%20F%20Response.pdf
6/5/25: UC Berkeley researchers team up for first-of-its-kind lawsuit over Trump funding cuts (NBC) University of California faculty members and researchers filed suit against President Donald Trump and several federal agencies late Wednesday in what they hope will become a first-of-its-kind class action challenging the administration’s sweeping cuts to research funding. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-funding-cuts-uc-berkeley-reseachers-lawsuit-rcna206667
6/5/25: Trump moves to slash NSF: why are the proposed budget cuts so big? (Nature) Less than a month after the US National Science Foundation (NSF) marked its 75th anniversary, President Donald Trump has targeted it for an unprecedented budget cut. Scientists are reeling following the Friday release of the Trump team’s proposal for the agency, which funds 25% of federally backed basic research at US universities, and asking: why? https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01749-x
6/5/25: Strangling intellectual independence (Science, Editorial) The phrase “Sputnik moment” is often used to describe a moment when a country—usually the United States—needs to respond to some technological leap made by another nation. The wake-up call is meant to provoke more investment in research, development, and education. Today, the United States faces another Sputnik moment, but this time, the threat isn’t coming from abroad—it’s coming from within. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz5024
6/3/25: The White House Gutted Science Funding. Now It Wants to ‘Correct’ Research. (New York Times) Who could argue with setting a “gold standard” for science? Actually, thousands of scientists from around the country. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/climate/executive-order-gold-standard-science.html
6/2/25: Scientific Discoveries, and Dreams, in the Balance (New York Times) One of the joys of science journalism is in seeing dreams come true — watching scientists push their career chips across the table, on behalf of a vision or a mission that will take years to achieve, and finally win. Their stories are sagas of passion, curiosity and sacrifice . https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/science/trump-science-research-nsf.html
