- About ARCS
Government Investment in Research
ARCS Foundation Statement on Announced Reduction in Federal Funding for Research
On Feb. 12, 2025, ARCS Foundation, Inc., issues a statement that reads in part:
We believe reduction of reimbursement of key costs may put the important research of our PhD scholars at risk. More broadly, we are deeply concerned that these cuts will impact critical US scientific progress, drastically reduce the scientific competitiveness of the United States, and harm a long-standing partnership between academic institutions and the federal government. Read the complete statement"We are concerned for our scholars at this unsettling time," ARCS Foundation President Beth Wainwright stressed. "We urge scholars who face difficulties due to Federal executive orders or funding reductions to contact their sponsoring chapters or email national@arcsfoundation.org." In response to inquiries from members wishing to express opinions, she recommends that they share their concerns as individuals with their Senators and Representatives.
Free Webinars—Trump and Higher Ed: Understanding the Latest
The Chronicle of Higher Education examines major challenges that colleges face as the Trump administration tries to transform higher education. Sessions are scheduled April 3, April 24, and May 8. REGISTER to either attend live at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT or receive the link for viewing later.
Understanding Research Overhead
Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs include a range of indirect expenses not directly covered by research grants—from janitorial and support staff, to utilities and computing, to workplace safety compliance and service contracts for high-end research equipment.
Watch the video or read a factsheet describing what F&A reimbursements (also known as indirect costs or overhead) are, how they are determined, and why they are important.
"Investing in science is investing in our future—it’s good for people’s health, for our quality of life, and for the economy," states the Council on Government Relations. Reducing F&A reimbursements would have a disasterous impact on research institutions' ability to foster technologial innovation, advance medical discoveries, sustain a dynamic American economy, and protect our national security, COGR warns. It maintains that the reimbursement process is efficient, based on acutal research costs, and already partially borne by universities. In fiscal 2023 universities paid $28 billion from their own institutional funds to support research, including $6.8 billion for the federal share of F&A costs that wasn't reimbursed.
An association of research universities (including 42 ARCS partner institutions), affiliated medical centers, and independent research institutes, COGR is the national authority on federal policies and regulations affecting U.S. research institutions.
Comments from Leading OrganizationsCouncil on Competitiveness
Proposed reduction to National Institutes of Health funding "will negatively impact ongoing, critical life sciences and medical research at a time when competitors, especially China, are looking for any advantage to seize the lead in the global innovation race, and to dominate critical exponential technologies from AI to the biosciences." Read the complete statement
ARCS Foundation is a member of the council, which unites leaders from academia, business, labor, and the national labs, in a nonpartisan effort to lead the global economy, strengthen the innovation infrastructure, and raise the standard of living for all Americans.
American Association of Universities
"A cut to F&A reimbursements for NIH grants is quite simply a cut to the life-saving medical research that helps countless American families.” Read AAU President Barbara Snyder's complete statement
27 ARCS partner universities are members of AAU.
Association of Public Land Grant Universities
"This action will slow advances for millions of patients who desperately need critical breakthroughs and imperil the U.S. position as the world leader in biomedical innovation." Read APLU President Mark Becker's complee statement
27 ARCS partner universities are members of APLU.
NOTE: AAU and APLU joined with the American Council on Education in legal action contesting NIH cuts to F&A. Read more
American Association for the Advancement of Science
“Science, engineering and medicine are searches for truth, facts and objectivity. We live in a time when that seems under threat,” observed AAAS Chief Executive Officer Sudip Parikh at the 2025 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston. "Decisions made by all three branches of the U.S. government in the weeks ahead will affect our enterprise for years to come," added Board Chair Joseph Francisco. Read more
DOWNLOAD AAAS PDFs providing talking points for expressing support for science and instructions for visiting Congressional representatives.
In February AAAS and the Royal Society released Science Diplomacy in an Era of Disruption, a science diplomacy framework addressing challenges including increased economic competition, rapid technological advancements like artificial intelligence, and the rise of non-state actors including “tech titans.”
IN THE NEWSScientists sound alarm on dismantling of research funding
PBS News, March 31, 2025 (Read the letter in the New York Times)How U.S. colleges are navigating cuts to grants for research
PBS News, March 28, 2025Overseas universities see opportunity in U.S. "brain drain"
Science Insider, March 17, 2025The Authoritarian Endgame on Higher Education
New York Times opinion, March 15, 2025Federal research instability risks postdoc careers, American leadership
STAT, March 13, 2025; Op-ed by Thomas Kimbis, CEO of the National Postdoctoral Association, which surveyed members on impact of recent federal policiesJohns Hopkins University Cut 2,000 Workers Funded by Federal Aid
New York Times, March 13, 2025Universities that anticipate funding losses from DOGE cuts are yanking back admission offers to graduate students
Fortune, March 6, 2025toMore Universities Slow Spending, Admissions Over Federal Funding Chaos
Forbes, March 3, 2025US Universities Reduce PhD Admissions in Response to Federal Funding Cuts
The Scientist, Feb. 27, 2025This Year’s PhD Admissions Cycle Is Leaving Students in the Lurch
Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 26, 2025What National Institutes of Health funding cuts could mean for U.S. universities
NPR, Feb. 12, 2025FROM ARCS PARTNER UNIVERSITIESStanford University
"Every study … has found that a dollar put into university research and science has a payoff of multiple dollars over time in social benefits,” says economist and Stanford University President Jonathan Levin. Read more
UW Impact!
The University of Wshington Alumni Association’s legislative advocacy program offers alerts on key issues and ways to advocate "for the funding and policies that keep the UW at the forefront of discovery." Learn more
University of Hawai‘i
President Wendy Hensel discussed "one of the most existential threats facing higher education in our lifetimes" during a two-hour live-streamed forum attended by more than 1,200 people March 13. Learn more. Visit UH's New Federal Policies and Updates page and learn about the Graduate Student Success Fund established to assist adversely affected students.
Washington State University
"We're talking about an absolutely massive budgetary challenge," Provost T. Riley-Tillman advised the WSU Board of Regents in a Feb. 17 report on the impact of federal executive orders and proposed NIH funding cuts. Watch the video
Johns Hopkins University
"We are watching America cede its supremacy in biomedical science, and we may never regain our position," writes Professor Jordan Green in the university's Research Saves Lives projecct voices. Read additional messages
University of California System
The Federal Updates webpage includes a video message from UC President Micheal V. Drake and a link to an Executive Order tracker.