The Impact of Research Funding Freezes Cause Uncertainty on Campus for Both Students and Staff
Leela Perez-Cobo
As of Jan. 29, several executive orders paused federally funded research for colleges and universities nationwide. Referred to as a “funding freeze,” these orders suspend billions of dollars worth of grants and loans from the federal government. These funds are commonly utilized by universities and research institutions to support university-based research projects and labs. With this shift in mind, universities and institutions alike are adjusting to new funding environments and parameters in which to carry out their work.
Due to the funding freeze, the National Institute of Health (NIH) and funded research have faced severe cuts. Here on campus, Professor of Biology and Director of Neuroscience Siddharth Ramakrishnan spoke on the impacts. Within staff, there is recent heightened awareness surrounding “what they are reporting out, what language they’re using to report out, so that their grants are not being directly affected when they’re being audited.” Luckily, due to the University’s relatively limited reliance on NIH grants for research funding, Professor Ramakrishnan observed that we are “less affected than other larger institutions,” which are in closer funding contact with the NIH.
According to Hajung Lee, associate professor of Religion, Spirituality, and Society and Bioethics, students will also feel the full effects and be deeply impacted by these funding changes. “Students who want to go to grad school, especially in biology, medicine, science, may be very challenging, because NIH funding is the largest funding in the world,” Lee said.
Research is a vital tool for students’ personal growth as they dive deeper into career fields and discover their passions. “It both helps students understand if this is the right path for them, whether grad school is the right path for them, or need to go to a different path. But there’s nothing that beats that on hand research training,” Professor Ramakrishnan said. Elaborating on his own research, he said, “A lot of the funding mechanisms that were present for being a research postdoc helped me move forward in my career, and those are the main things that are being cut right now, funding mechanisms. So I feel my worry is, training the next generation of scientists is going to be slowed down tremendously.”
The impact of the funding freeze on students has begun to play out in numerous ways. Complaints and worries voiced by Professor Lee’s students within her bioethics, public health and reproductive health classes reflect this shift. Many students voiced to her their feelings of “frustration about their future directions, especially if they want to be in research, in medicine and science, or if they want to be in the healthcare industry. But at the same time, you know, students are kind of motivated to share, you know, their thoughts about this, because, relatively speaking, people have been kind of, you know, silent about this,” Lee said.
For undergraduate students who are applying for graduate research programs, the funding freeze has limited opportunities. Liz, a University of Puget Sound senior, noted that her search for graduate programs has kept her on her toes, utilizing personal relationships with professors on campus for off-campus suggestions regarding graduate programs. Looking to apply for a master’s program after graduation has left Liz, like many students seeking jobs and programs post-graduation, in a demanding position, constantly navigating the changes about how career goals and life after graduation may shape out to be. “One of the colleges that I applied to, they have a federal hiring track, and from what it sounds like when I was talking to some of their admin, that program is being cut. And so I’m like, maybe not that school,” she said. Liz shared that “it’s been a very long, difficult process that has required a lot of introspection of: what do I value? What am I willing to put up with? Where do I think I could have the potential to make the most impact in the future?”
On campus, University staff and professors are modifying their work to continue pursuing their areas of research. Madison Howard, an advisor in the Office of Fellowships, shared similar concerns surrounding the impacts of the freeze. “Fellowships is, a lot of it is federally funded, some of it is privately funded, but a lot of funding for especially language opportunities and opportunities abroad, which is really big on our campus, our students apply for and are very successful for these programs, and they are funded by the State Department, and they’re funded by the federal government,” Howard explained.
However, she advocates for students to still seek out educational study abroad programs amid the funding freeze. “I don’t imagine that all of our student resources will go away. There are people who are motivated to keep up the work that we’re doing on campus, and we have funding sources that are separate from government funding,” Howard said.
As the effects of the funding freeze continue to become apparent, Professor Lee provides wisdom and words of encouragement. “Pay more attention and think of the big and long term consequences on these effects,” she emphasized. As both educators and students spoke about their experiences surrounding these changes, an emphasis on flexibility, curiosity and awareness shone through. There is value in remaining nimble during these times for the sake of pursuing educational, personal career and research goals.