Trump Administration Cuts Funds to U.C.L.A., Chancellor Says

New York Times

2 days ago

The federal government is cutting research funds for the University of California, Los Angeles, over claims of antisemitism and bias at the institution, according to its chancellor.
In a statement late Thursday, the chancellor, Julio Frenk, said that the federal government was cutting 'hundreds of grants' to the university made through the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. He did not specify which funds were being cut or by how much.
The move makes U.C.L.A. the latest university to be targeted by the Trump administration, whose officials allege that administrators have not done enough to combat antisemitism on their campuses. It comes amid a broader pushback by the administration against what it sees as 'woke' ideologies.
In recent weeks, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Brown and others have had federal funding reduced or threatened based on broad accusations from the Trump administration that range from antisemitism to improper support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In many cases, the government has used the threat of funding cuts to extract concessions and hundreds of millions of dollars in fines from universities.
The National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last year, U.C.L.A. was the site of one of the nation's biggest protests against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. The demonstrations prompted claims from across the political spectrum that the university didn't do enough to protect Jewish students or pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
On Wednesday, the university agreed to pay more than $6 million to settle a lawsuit from Jewish students and a professor who said that the university had allowed a hostile protest on campus. After the settlement was announced, the Department of Justice separately said that it had found the university violated civil rights laws by failing to respond to students' complaints of antisemitism.
Mr. Frenk said in his statement that U.C.L.A. had taken 'concrete action' to address antisemitism and discrimination, including creating a new office of campus safety.
'This far-reaching penalty of defunding lifesaving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination,' he wrote.
He called the cuts a 'loss for Americans across the nation' whose work and health rely on the university's research.