UCLA to Enter Negotiations with Trump Regarding $339 Million Halt in Funding for Medical and Scientific Grants
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is currently in negotiations with the federal government, including agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Department of Energy, to potentially reinstate $339 million in frozen grants.
This move comes following allegations from the Trump administration regarding UCLA's handling of antisemitism and compliance issues, which has prompted an investigation by the Department of Justice. The grant suspensions, affecting research in fields like neuroscience, clean energy, and cancer, were enacted two days after the deadline.
University officials have stated they are "preparing" to engage with these agencies to clarify what information is needed to lift the suspensions, indicating a willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue. As of now, no final decisions have been made regarding legal challenges, layoffs, or the use of emergency funds to support researchers.
Hundreds of faculty at UCLA have signed a petition demanding a more aggressive defense against the Trump administration's demands. The petition, which has garnered about 1,200 signatures, many from UCLA professors, suggests that UC could tap into billions in unrestricted endowment funds to bridge the gap left by suspended grants. However, university leaders have not publicly indicated whether this is on the table.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk has challenged the idea that UCLA's alleged antisemitism is justification for pulling grants. The Department of Justice gave UCLA until Tuesday to negotiate over these findings, or face a lawsuit by Sept. 2.
In a separate legal case, the Trump administration's actions against UCLA in relation to UC cuts may have violated a court order that prevented certain science grant cuts. Meanwhile, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco researchers have filed a case against the Trump administration over UC cuts.
Notably, Vivek Shetty, a UCLA professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery and biomedical engineering, has had an $828,154 four-year NIH grant frozen. Carrie Bearden, a professor at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, has had a five-year, $2.36-million NIH training grant suspended.
The situation at UCLA is not unique. Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government. San Francisco-based Judge Rita F. Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California suggested that the federal government engaged in "quintessential viewpoint discrimination" in terminating diversity-related grants from agencies including the NSF.
UCLA leaders are "very hopeful" that a solution will be found to lift the grant suspensions. The university is preparing to contact the NIH, NSF, and the Department of Energy to discuss the suspension of grants and seek a resolution to the issue.
- UCLA, located in Los Angeles, California, is currently negotiating with federal agencies, including the NIH, NSF, and Department of Energy, to potentially reinstate $339 million in suspended grants.
- The grant suspensions, affecting research in fields like neuroscience, clean energy, and cancer, were enacted due to allegations from the Trump administration regarding UCLA's handling of antisemitism and compliance issues.
- University officials are preparing to engage with these agencies to clarify what information is needed to lift the suspensions, indicating a willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue.
- Hundreds of UCLA faculty have signed a petition demanding a more aggressive defense against the Trump administration's demands, suggesting that UC could tap into billions in unrestricted endowment funds to bridge the gap left by suspended grants.
- In a separate legal case, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco researchers have filed a case against the Trump administration over UC cuts, which may have violated a court order that prevented certain science grant cuts.
- The situation at UCLA is not unique, as Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay over $220 million to the federal government.
- In the general news, San Francisco-based Judge Rita F. Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California suggested that the federal government engaged in "quintessential viewpoint discrimination" in terminating diversity-related grants from agencies including the NSF.
