7/16/25: NIH to Dismiss New Advisory Council Members (Inside Higher Ed) According to Nature, the NIH is planning to dismiss dozens of scientists picked to serve on its advisory councils who were nominated during the Biden administration. NIH leaders are looking to fill those vacant seats with people who are aligned with the Trump administration’s priorities. Nature noted that the move will leave the councils understaffed and without key expertise to make the final funding decisions. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/07/16/report-nih-dismiss-new-grant-reviewers
See also: Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities (Nature) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02221-6
7/16/25: ED Launches Investigation Into Michigan’s Foreign Funding (Inside Higher Ed) The Department of Education has opened an investigation into the University of Michigan’s foreign funding after a review revealed alleged “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures,” department officials announced Tuesday. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/07/16/ed-launches-investigation-michigans-foreign-funding
7/16/25: For Once, Public Confidence in Higher Ed Has Increased (The Chronicle) For the first time in a decade, Americans grew more confident in higher ed, according to a Lumina Foundation-Gallup education survey conducted in June. https://www.chronicle.com/article/for-once-public-confidence-in-higher-ed-has-increased
7/16/25: What Happened to the Smaller Agencies Trump Tried to Shutter? (Inside Higher Ed) Helped by then-ally Elon Musk and his novel Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Trump laid off thousands of employees and cut off millions of dollars in grant funding. Some of those on the chopping block included the National Endowment for the Humanities, AmeriCorps and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, all of which provide critical funding and support to higher education institutions. Multiple higher education associations and nonprofit groups have since pushed back against Trump’s pink slips. But while the advocacy groups have won some relief via the courts, some higher ed experts still worry that in many cases the damage is done, even if the agencies remain standing. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/07/16/neh-americorps-and-others-face-financial-freezes
7/15/25: National Science Foundation employees’ dissent declaration on ‘indefinite hold’ (Chemistry World) The Alexandria Declaration, named after the agency’s headquarters in Virginia, was expected to be issued on 14 July but is on ‘indefinite hold’, according to Stand Up for Science, which is organising the effort. A leaked version of the NSF document echoes similar concerns to those aired by workers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/national-science-foundation-employees-dissent-declaration-on-indefinite-hold/4021854.article
7/15/25: NIH proposal sows concerns over future of animal research, unnecessary costs (The Transmitter) The new NIH policy calls for greater incorporation of new approach methodologies in all future Notices of Funding Opportunities related to animal model systems. https://www.thetransmitter.org/animal-models/nih-proposal-sows-concerns-over-future-of-animal-research-unnecessary-costs/
7/16/25: How to de-Americanize global science (Nature, World View) The US science crisis presents an opportunity to reinvent funding and management of the global research enterprise. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02215-4
7/15/25: Rufo, Shapiro, Others Request New Higher Ed ‘Contract’ (Inside Higher Ed) A conservative think tank called on President Trump Tuesday to “draft a new contract” that universities must follow or face “revocation of all public benefit.” Among other things, institutions would have to end “their direct participation in social and political activism,” abolish “DEI bureaucracies,” and publish “complete data on race, admissions, and class rank,” according to the statement put out by the Manhattan Institute. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/07/15/rufo-shapiro-others-ask-trump-new-higher-ed-contract
7/15/25: House Appropriators Propose 23% Cut to NSF (Inside Higher Ed) House Republicans want to cut the National Science Foundation’s funding by about $2 billion, according to budget documents released Monday. The House proposal shows Republicans’ priorities as funding talks for the coming fiscal year ramp up. Congress has until Sept. 30 to reach an agreement on a budget, which is made up of 12 appropriations bills, or else the government could shut down. The House appropriations committee has released several proposal bills, while its Senate counterpart is just getting started. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/07/15/house-appropriators-propose-23-cut-nsf
7/15/25: What Trump’s Bombast Reveals About His Vision for Higher Ed (Inside Higher Ed) The administration’s use of public channels to herald funding freezes and federal investigations tells of a coherent agenda to remake higher ed, according to one political scientist. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/07/15/how-public-attacks-harvard-harm-all-higher-ed
See also: Tracking Trump’s Higher Ed Agenda (The Chronicle): https://www.chronicle.com/article/tracking-trumps-higher-ed-agenda
7/12/25: White House OSTP Issues Agency Guidance for Gold Standard Science (National Law Review) On June 23, 2025, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that it issued agency guidance for implementing Gold Standard Science in the conduct and management of scientific activities. https://natlawreview.com/article/white-house-ostp-issues-agency-guidance-gold-standard-science
