The American University is trying to explain a instruction from the Trump administration that wants to stop federal grants and loans, threatening to disrupt higher education funding, especially for scientific research.
While a federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze, some schools had already started preparing. The University of Chicago warns the faculty about buying equipment, starting new experiments or starting on a journey related to its grant. And Harvard University, which has been received in the last academic research dollars in the dollar about $ 700 million and has been under federal investigation, said the memo said “the memo” is “implicated in a developed set of executive orders. One is required to break on one
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American universities are awarded billions of dollars every year for a wife of goods, including scientific research and tuition assistance. While the proposed stagnation does not apply to the disbursement of federal loan and pail grant to pay for the college, it can affect how universities trade. Schools receive research money from agencies including Health and Human Services Department, Defense Department, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and Agriculture Department.
Barbara Sineider, president of the Association of American Universities, said, “We are extremely concerned about the impact of this action on our country’s ability, who maintain their ability to maintain their scientific and technical leadership against contestants and potential opponents. . “
Michigan University and Ohio State University have posted executive orders on their websites along with some guidance as school officials try to determine the next stages. Leadership at Yale University advised the faculty, employees and students to continue federally funded except for cases where the university has received specific stop-work orders.
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Yale President Maur McInnis and Provost Scott Strubel wrote on Tuesday, “The implementation of these changes will depend on the interpretation by federal agencies and courts, so today we do not have a clear answer as to how it and other government action will affect our university. ” “We all should pay attention to the impact of the expenses of the university in the light of these uncertainty.”
The University of Texas at Austin said they were not stopping any research.
Dan Jaf, vice president of research at the University of Texas at Austin, said in a statement, “We do not believe that for current guidance we have to stop federally financed research activities until the sponsor agency has a stagnation on a specific project Does not order. “
Some agencies have already taken action to prevent grant-review panels, bodies, which determine which institutions receive money to study various subjects.
The National Science Foundation took the step on Monday, Sara Spretzer said, which works on government relations for the American Council on Education, a business group that represents 1,600 public and private colleges and universities. He said that researchers participating in the grant review panel were told that this was not happening.
This decision will already affect the grants going through reviews, new grant announcements and disbursement of money. It does not seem that this order is trying to bring back the federal funds. According to a statement on the National Science Foundation website, Trump’s executive orders can also affect conferences, training and workshops.
“It is difficult to understand how large the influence will be on not only higher education institutions, but also in the United States and American people,” Spretzer said.
