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4/14/25: Department of Energy Caps Universities’ Indirect Research Costs at 15% (Inside Higher Ed, COGR President Matt Owens’ Statement Quoted) … COGR, an association of research universities, affiliated medical centers and independent research institutes, characterized the policy as “ruinous,” writing in a statement that “our nation’s economic competitors are laughing at another self-inflicted policy wound that will slow the pace of American research and innovation.” “First it was NIH. Now it is DOE. Bad policy is bad policy, and doubling down on it doesn’t make it better,” the COGR statement said. “Americans deserve better than a series of misguided policy proclamations that harm our nation’s research enterprise, economy, health, and security.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/04/14/doe-puts-15-cap-universities-indirect-research
See also: Energy Department cuts university overhead rates to 15% on research grants (Science) https://www.science.org/content/article/energy-department-cuts-university-overhead-rates-to-15-on-research-grants
See COGR President Matt Owens’ statement here: https://www.cogr.edu/statement-cogr-president-matt-owens-regarding-department-energys-policy-capping-research-indirect
4/14/25: This Is How Universities Can Escape Trump’s Trap, If They Dare (New York Times, Opinion) There is a way for universities to fight back. It requires more than refusing to bend to Trump’s will, and it requires more than forming a united front. They must abandon all the concerns — rankings, donors, campus amenities — that preoccupy and distract them, and focus on their core mission: the production and dissemination of knowledge. Intellectuals have adopted this strategy to fight against autocrats in other countries. It works. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/opinion/trump-higher-education.html
4/14/25: NIH Appeals Block on Rate Change Proposal (Inside Higher Ed) The National Institutes of Health appealed a federal judge’s order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to cut funding for indirect research costs… three separate lawsuits have been filed against the NIH in the federal district court of Massachusetts by academic associations, medical colleges and state attorneys general , all seeking to overturn the proposed plan. They argued that the cap will bring cutting-edge medical research to a halt, slash employment for researchers and cause operational chaos. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/04/14/nih-appeals-block-rate-change-proposal
See also: NIH cuts triggered a host of lawsuits: Nature’s guide to what’s next (Nature) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01192-y
4/14/25: ‘Draconian’ Layoffs, Grant Terminations Come for the NEH (Inside Higher Ed) Critics say the deep cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities, which has supported research and learning at colleges since 1965, “will ripple across American life.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/04/14/draconian-layoffs-grant-terminations-come-neh
4/13/25: Trump Is Going After Universities’ Federal Funding. Here’s What to Know. (Wall Street Journal) President Trump has pulled funding from colleges he says failed to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. His administration has also targeted diversity, equity and inclusion programs in academia. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/trump-college-university-funding-7a3b7dc4?mod=education_news_article_pos1
4/12/25: Harvard Professors Sue Trump Administration Over Threat to Cut Funding (New York Times) The lawsuit by the American Association of University Professors and the Harvard faculty chapter of the group follows the Trump administration’s announcement earlier this month that it was reviewing about $9 billion in federal funding that Harvard receives. The administration also sent the school a list of demands that it must meet if it wants to keep the funds. The suit, filed in the Federal District Court in Massachusetts, seeks a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration from cutting the funds. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/us/politics/harvard-professors-trump-lawsuit-funding.html
4/11/25: Trump eyes major cuts to NOAA research (The Hill) The Trump administration is eyeing cuts to climate, weather and ocean research in a draft budget blueprint for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A draft document from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) obtained by The Hill shows the administration wants to eliminate NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Office and cut 74 percent of its funding. https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5245481-trump-eyes-major-cuts-to-noaa-research/
4/11/25: All of Columbia’s NIH Funding Is Apparently Frozen. Here’s What That Looks Like for One Researcher. (The Chronicle) According to Science, an NIH director sent an email to staffers last Tuesday instructing them not to award any new grants to Columbia until a restriction is lifted. Principal investigators reportedly can’t draw down on existing grants, either, unless they get approval from the agency…. “It’s a bit of a gamble right now,” she said. Should she continue normal operations with the hope and assumption that funding will materialize eventually, or slim down on spending — thus delaying her lab’s progress — for fear that the grant might never come? https://www.chronicle.com/article/all-of-columbias-nih-funding-is-apparently-frozen-heres-what-that-looks-like-for-one-researcher
4/11/25: After Trump grant cuts, some universities give researchers a lifeline (Science) Last fall, Keith Maggert’s grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to extend his work in chromosome biology and gene regulation received a score from reviewers that put it over the threshold for funding… but turmoil at NIH delayed it until late May… This week, however, he received $37,619 in short-term support from another source: his own university. Several U.S. universities are taking similar steps to assist their researchers in dire straits. … Most aren’t sharing how much money they are committing to these efforts, though wealthier institutions probably can do more to keep labs afloat. And all bridge programs are likely to be oversubscribed. https://www.science.org/content/article/after-trump-grant-cuts-some-universities-give-researchers-lifeline
4/11/25: Brain drain? Trump cutbacks force scientists to seek jobs in Europe (Reuters) A letter, reviewed by Reuters, signed in March by 13 European countries including France, Germany and Spain, urged the EU Commission to move fast to attract academic talent. The European Research Council, an EU body that finances scientific work, told Reuters it would double the relocation budget for funding researchers moving to the EU to 2 million euros ($2.16 million) per applicant. That goes towards covering the cost of moving to a European institution, which may involve setting up a laboratory. https://www.reuters.com/world/scientists-us-harried-by-trump-cuts-turn-towards-europe-2025-04-11/
4/10/25: FDA Announces Plan to Phase Out Animal Testing Requirement for Monoclonal Antibodies and Other Drugs (FDA News Release) Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking a groundbreaking step to advance public health by replacing animal testing in the development of monoclonal antibody therapies and other drugs with more effective, human-relevant methods. The new approach is designed to improve drug safety and accelerate the evaluation process, while reducing animal experimentation, lowering research and development (R&D) costs, and ultimately, drug prices. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-announces-plan-phase-out-animal-testing-requirement-monoclonal-antibodies-and-other-drugs
4/10/25: Researchers from China and five other ‘countries of concern’ barred from NIH databases (Science) The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has barred scientists in China and five other “countries of concern” from accessing 21 biomedical databases, which hold information on genetic variation, cancer cases, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. The 2 April move by President Donald Trump’s administration, which ramps up a longer running effort to prevent foreign access to data deemed sensitive, also halts projects involving the databases that include collaborators in the named countries. https://www.science.org/content/article/researchers-china-and-five-other-countries-concern-barred-nih-databases
4/10/25: Department of Defense issues over 100 stop-work orders to Northwestern researchers (Chicago Sun Times) Northwestern University researchers reeling after the Trump administration’s announced plans to cut $790 million in the university’s funding are starting to get answers. Over 100 stop-work orders were sent to research faculty across the university by the Department of Defense this week, President Michael Schill said in an email Thursday to Northwestern students and staff. https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/04/10/northwestern-department-of-defense-funding-stop-work-orders
