Chancellor Mnookin: End-of-semester federal updates
The following message was sent from Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin to faculty and staff on April 22 and contains information accurate as of April 21. It is being translated into multiple languages. Check back for translations. Visit the Federal Relations page for additional updates.
Dear campus colleagues,
In many ways, this feels like any other spring semester. Temperatures are warming, graduates are snapping photos on Bascom Hill and across campus, and there was a great celebration at Memorial Union on Friday to mark the return of the Terrace chairs.
Admitted students are exploring campus in advance of the May 1 decision deadline for choosing where they’ll spend the next four years, current students and faculty are in the home stretch of the semester, and we are preparing for our transition to the new administrative process system known as Workday, among so many other happenings on our busy campus.
But, as you all well know, this is also a spring semester that requires us to navigate a substantial and unprecedented set of challenges and uncertainties.
We have experienced a raft of proposed changes at the federal level, as agencies that have financially supported universities for decades are shifting priorities, moving to terminate grants, eliminating long-time resources and infrastructure, and delaying review of new awards. The federal actions go beyond financial risk to the heart of our mission, including calling into question our values and even who belongs on our campus.
We will always be grounded in and guided by core principles. At the same time, we recognize that ‘business as usual’ might not always be possible in the moment we’re in, as events unfold with speed and intensity. I’m writing to provide some updates on recent federal developments and the variety of ways we’re responding, visible or less visible, that involve leadership in Bascom Hall and across our campus.
Before I do, I want to take a moment and express my deep appreciation to all of our faculty and staff, who, despite uncertainty, are working with great dedication to maintaining a steadfast focus on our mission of teaching, research, and public service.
International students, scholars and faculty
In recent weeks, the federal government has terminated the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records of more than two dozen international students and recent alumni. This is happening without regard for their studies, employment expectations, or the lives they’ve built in our community.
Understandably, this is causing great anxiety among our international community on campus and deep concern among the broader campus population, including leadership.
In some of these cases, we do not know the reason for the termination; in others, the individual may have had a legal infraction, but many of these are extremely minor, like a traffic ticket. The government holds broad authority in these matters, but in most of these instances, we lack clear explanation or rationale.
We are working to provide support to those who have experienced terminations. Our International Division has been in regular contact with international students, faculty and visiting scholars, providing resources and advice. We can help connect students to legal resources if they wish but there are legal limitations to the university providing direct legal assistance for personal matters.
We are also working with our Congressional delegation, partner institutions and national associations on advocacy strategies. Across the country, a number of affected students have pursued legal action, including one UW–Madison student who, working with a private attorney, received a temporary restraining order against the action.
International students and alumni are a vital part of UW–Madison. They contribute to every corner of this university and well beyond. They enrich our community in tremendous ways, and these recent records terminations are deeply concerning. I shared a few further thoughts in a piece I wrote last week for the Wisconsin State Journal about this issue.
Protecting UW–Madison research and education
The cuts that have been proposed at the federal level could have devastating impacts on research as well as education. Currently, the university is appealing funding decisions with agencies and is also participating in legal challenges to prevent wrongful cuts, grant terminations and delays.
To date, the Office of Legal Affairs, working with many others on campus, has issued nine declarations in seven lawsuits brought by state attorneys general or partners in higher education, presenting detailed factual evidence about the harm of each of these actions.
In most instances so far, these actions have resulted in temporary restraining orders or injunctions that block the federal government from executing these directives until further legal judgment can be reached.
One recent update on the case involving the National Institutes of Health’s proposed cap on indirect rates: A permanent injunction was granted on April 4 and will be in place until the case is heard on appeal in the coming months.
Most recently, the university received notice that the Department of Energy would require a reduction of facilities and administrative costs from our usual negotiated rate of 55.5% down to 15%, or face termination of previously funded research projects, including those aimed at diagnosing and treating cancer. A federal judge on Wednesday, April 16 issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the notice from going into effect until further notice.
We are seeing a number of additional impacts that are no less disruptive. Among them are cuts to agency staff, delays in review panels, terminations of advisory board members and other slowdowns. For example, on Friday, we learned of updates to NSF priorities, which have moved away from encouraging underrepresented groups to participate in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as research on diversity and misinformation.
At a high level, it is not hard to imagine the damage the cuts and related actions will ultimately do to Wisconsin’s innovation economy. They will inevitably impact the next generation of scientists and inventors. They will also harm our national security and our ability to be competitive in developing critical new technologies on a global scale.
The impact of tariffs
There is still a good deal of uncertainty around the tariffs announced two weeks ago and then partially put on hold. But make no mistake, tariffs will add significantly to our financial pressures. We expect there will be inflation induced by tariffs that will raise our costs in many areas, including procuring high-tech equipment for research. Campus construction projects may be delayed by supply chain shifts and rising costs for materials like steel and aluminum.
Our ongoing response
As we’ve shared, we have a team of experts here and in D.C. tracking and assessing relevant changes to keep up with this very quickly shifting landscape and ensure we’re engaged with key campus stakeholders, including our Congressional delegation, as well as professional organizations such as AAU and APLU. Our Federal Relations website is the central source for information on federal actions affecting UW–Madison.
I recognize both the stress and demands that these challenges have created across our community. I am grateful for the deep commitment the staff and leadership in the International Division, along with Student Affairs, have demonstrated for members of our international community and the extra support they have provided over the past several weeks, alongside many other concerned faculty and staff. Our Office of Legal Affairs has been working tirelessly to support lawsuits and administrative appeals challenging various executive orders and agency actions. Our Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and, within it, Research and Sponsored Programs, is tracking changes in real time and communicating with schools, colleges, and investigators. Our senior administrative team and our deans and school and college leaders have also been hard at work on contingency planning for a variety of scenarios. I also know and appreciate that many of you have also put significant effort into both understanding and navigating the moment in which we find ourselves.
We are also working with our colleagues at the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA), which devoted this month’s UW Now program to the issue of research funding cuts and what’s at stake. WFAA also encourages anyone interested in making their voice heard to visit its advocacy website and connect directly with elected officials.
As we approach the end of the semester, I don’t want to lose the sense of joy and optimism that comes with sending thousands of new graduates out into the world to live out the Wisconsin Idea. As we see the lines of new and soon-to-be graduates climbing Bascom Hill to take photos with the Abe statue, it’s also a moment to recognize that higher education is a big part of what makes this country great — and that the research compact between the federal government and universities, dating back to just after World War II, has made us the envy of the globe.
UW–Madison is a place that is researching, inventing, creating, teaching, learning, sifting and winnowing, sharing knowledge and above all, giving our students the opportunity to be more tomorrow than they were yesterday. And even amidst challenge, that work continues every day, thanks to each and every one of you.
On, Wisconsin –
Jennifer L. Mnookin
Chancellor
