University of Tennessee researchers told to press on as Trump funding pause rattles campus

USA Today

29-01-2025

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville's research department is directing researchers to continue working on federally funded projects with an understanding future funding could be in jeopardy as the entire UT system monitors how President Donald Trump's executive orders could force universities to rethink how they operate.
Some of Trump's executive orders since taking office Jan. 20 have targeted federal agencies that fund loans and grants, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Deborah L. Crawford, vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development at UT, sent out a mass email Jan. 27 that outlined to students, staff and faculty some of the ways Trump's orders are raising questions within the university community.
'The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the National Institutes of Health, has issued a freeze on public communications, including funding opportunity announcements, and has suspended the study sections that review proposals,' Crawford said in the email. 'The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has removed funding opportunity announcements from their website and has paused upcoming submission deadlines while they complete an internal review.'
UT and its researchers spent $153.63 million in federal funds for research and development in 2023, according to the Higher Education Research and Development Survey. In 2024, UT Knoxville spent more than $384 million on various research projects.
Crawford urged researchers to continue working on projects already funded unless a stop-work order is issued by the project's sponsor. Partial stop-work orders issued by the by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Labor have been implemented "for projects or project components focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,' she said.
Crawford also suggests researchers continue with research proposals even if competitions have been postponed.
Pause on federal funding won't affect student financial aid
The president's Office of Management and Budget sent out a memo Jan. 27 announcing a pause on federal funding for grants and loans from federal agencies, leading to widespread confusion about who would be affected and how.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington blocked the pause from going into effect Jan. 28, ordering the Trump administration not to halt grant and loan funding until at least Feb. 3, when another hearing will take place, according to USA TODAY.
The block is to "maintain the status quo," but it doesn't prevent Trump from freezing funding for new programs and does not require the president to restart funding that already ended.
The Constitution grants Congress the power to determine spending, not the president, and attorneys general in six states filed similar lawsuits against the funding freeze.
Before the judge's ruling, USA TODAY confirmed the pause will not apply to direct individual assistance. That includes vital financial aid for students in the form of federal direct student loans and Pell Grants, according to a statement from Madison Biedermann, the deputy assistant secretary for communication strategy at the U.S. Department of Education.
Other federal student aid funds won't be halted, either, according to a banner on the studentaid.gov website.
"We continue to award and disburse federal student aid," the website said Jan. 29.
Individual assistance is mentioned in a footnote of the Office of Management and Budget memo, but it does not outline exceptions to the pause.
The UT System is 'closely monitoring the situation and evaluating any potential impact on the University as new information becomes available,' spokesperson Melissa Tindell told Knox News in an email.
Other ways Trump's executive actions could change policies at the University of Tennessee
The president also has signed orders lifting restrictions on authorities to conduct immigration arrests on students and to arrest students involved in the Israel-Hamas War protests.
UT doesn't knowingly admit undocumented students, according to a 2018 policy brief. The Migration Policy Institute reports there are around 4,000 "unauthorized" people ages 18-24 enrolled in schools across the state, but does not specify the schools the students attend, specifically whether they are high schools, trade schools, two-year colleges or four-year universities.If UT enrolled an undocumented student, the student wouldn't receive in-state tuition. UT does provide resources to locate scholarships for Deferred Action on Childhood Arrival recipients, commonly called Dreamers, and immigrant students and minority students.
Trump signed an order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, commonly called DEI, in federal agencies. Additionally, the executive order targets universities with endowments of $1 billion or more, which includes UT and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The executive order states that nine organizations - including higher education institutions - will be identified to be investigated.
The flagship Knoxville campus has endowments of $1.1 billion, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. In November 2023, the university changed the name of its Division of Diversity and Engagement office to the Office of Access and Engagement.
Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email [e-mail]. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing to subscribe.knoxnews.com.