Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
Universities across the United States are feeling the effects from a wave of policies the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency say are aimed at making the government more productive.
Eos will update this list as more developments unfold. If you have a tip about a university program affected by new policies or cutbacks, please contact us at eos@agu.org.
19 March: The University of California announced to employees it would implement a system-wide hiring freeze across all 10 of the system’s campuses, six academic health centers, and three national laboratories. The system employs approximately 265,000 faculty and staff, according to its website, and is home to some of the top Earth and space science programs in the country. Princeton University, ranked #1 among national universities by U.S. News & World Report, also announced a hiring freeze.
19 March: The administration paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania (Penn State), according to a FOX News video posted by a White House account for defying “his executive order banning biological males from infiltrating women’s sports.” Penn State is home to some of the nation’s top programs in Earth science, environmental sciences, and geochemistry.
BREAKING: The Trump Administration has "paused $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania" over its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.
Promises made, promises kept. pic.twitter.com/o4yiiqtH9d
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 19, 2025
17 March: As reported by WBUR, Bunker Hill Community College cancelled its summer study abroad programs, in which several dozen students planned to travel out of the country to study topics including wildlife conservation and ecology. Administrators cited concerns about international students being unable to re-enter the United States after the trip. Other schools, including Brown University, are advising international students and employees to delay international, and even domestic, travel.
14 March: Johns Hopkins University is cutting more than 2,000 jobs, many of them abroad, citing the loss of $800 million worth of USAID grants.
11 March: Eosreported that The National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), competitive summer research opportunities, are being cancelled at institutions across the nation. Some are also freezing or reducing admissions to graduate programs.
10 March: Harvard University announced a hiring freeze, citing “substantial financial uncertainties driven by rapidly shifting federal policies” faced by institutions across the nation. It is home to some of the nation’s top programs in Earth sciences.
7 March: The Trump administration cancelled $400 million in federal contracts and grants to Columbia University. In a letter to the university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, representatives from the administration said they would reconsider the terminated funding if the university agreed to a list of demands, including placing the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies departments on “academic receivership,” a rarely invoked move in which a college administration takes over a department.
David Damrosch, a professor of comparative literature at Harvard University, told the Chronicle of Higher Education the move was “bizarre and unprecedented.” “I have never heard of it in a democratic society,” he said. According to a 19 March Wall Street Journal report, the university is preparing to agree to the demands.
26 February: Stanford University, which has top-ranking programs in environmental sciences, geochemistry, geology, and geophysics and seismology, announced a hiring freeze.
—Emily Dieckman (@emfurd.bsky.social), Associate Editor
These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about how changes in law or policy are affecting scientists or research? Send us a tip at eos@agu.org.
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