On April 21, President Eric Kaler sent a campus-wide email updating the Case Western Reserve University community on federal research funding and its effect on CWRU research operations.
In his email, Kaler said, “On Friday, April 18, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that, effective immediately, it is terminating all grants that do not align with updated agency priorities.” This decision stems from changes in policy from the national government and “research priorities within the policy framework established by Congress, the Administration and the Director of NSF,” as stated on the NSF’s website. The website also notes that “Awards that are not aligned with NSF’s priorities have been terminated, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation.”
The NSF’s priorities include “two statutory criteria to ensure that every award has the potential to advance new knowledge (Intellectual Merit) with maximum impact on the Nation and its people (Broader Impacts).” More specifically, Kaler explained, “Research projects that give a preference to some groups at the expense of others, directly or indirectly exclude individuals or groups, or have impact limited to subgroups of people based on protected class or characteristics will not be seen as aligned to NSF priorities.” He added that it has become clear that research not in line with the NSF’s priorities would be terminated by the organization.
Beyond the NSF updates, Kaler also said that the Department of Energy (DOE) has capped the indirect cost rate for DOE grants at 15%. He explained that indirect cost rate, or facilities and administrative costs, “cover necessary costs of doing research including personnel, research facilities, regulatory compliance, utilities, safety requirements and myriad other support.” With the 15% cap, CWRU could lose up to $4 million that would have originally been spent to support research.
In concluding his email, Kaler cited the recent lawsuit filed against the DOE’s cap by the American Association of Research Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the American Council on Education (ACE) as temporary and welcome relief. He encouraged principal investigators to continue research as normal and reasserted the university’s dedication to providing information on changes to the research environment.
On April 22, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) released a public statement condemning the Trump administration’s efforts to insert their influence in the higher education space, including the new limitations on funding by research organizations such as the NSF and DOE.
The letter, titled “A Call for Constructive Engagement” states, “We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”
This follows Harvard University’s April 15 statement from their president in response to an email with a list of demands for the university to follow. “No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” it said. On Monday, Harvard also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over threats to cutting federal funding.
Initially, the letter was signed by over 150 university and college presidents; Kaler is not one of the presidents who signed. The listed signatures included a wide variety of schools across the U.S., from Ivy Leagues and small private colleges to large public universities. Since its initial publication, the letter has doubled in size, and as of April 23, the presidents of CWRU’s UAA opponents Carnegie Mellon University, Brandeis University and the University of Rochester all signed the letter. Nearby Ohio universities such as Oberlin College, Kenyon College and Capital University have also signed the statement.
Former CWRU president and current President of the AAU Barbara R. Snyder is a signatory of the letter.
When asked why CWRU is not a signatory on the letter and whether this affects the university’s stance or any planned responses regarding federal government involvement, the university spokesperson was unable to comment before The Observer’s publication deadline.