Updates on Federal Executive Orders and Research Activities

This webpage is dynamic and updated frequently. Please check back often.

Last updated May 28, 2025

 

Guidelines for the Research Community

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) continues to monitor the 2025 presidential administration transition. Below are some helpful guidelines.

  • Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations. Anticipated future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
  • If you are waiting to hear back from a program officer, please be aware they may not be able to respond during the agency communications pause.
  • Ensure all technical reports and deliverables are submitted by their due dates and prioritize the submission of any that are past due.
  • Monitor policy updates: Keep an eye on announcements from the federal agency overseeing your grant for any updates on funding or compliance requirements.
  • Principal investigators are encouraged to ensure that they have access to and control over datasets.
  • Continue to submit proposals. Closely monitor the funding announcement to see if the proposal criteria changes.
  • OVPRI and the Office of General Counsel ask that you forward any communications from granting agencies relating to stop work orders, modifications to existing grants, requests for attestations, and spending justification requests.

OVPRI has adopted a process to appeal the termination of contracts and grants by federal agencies (requires DuckID to log in).

Additionally, the UO continues to monitor and communicate any immigration updates, and their potential impact to our international, Dreamer, and undocumented students, faculty, and staff.

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Recent Federal Actions

Statements in Response to Federal Actions

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Resources for Researchers

At this time, the Council on Government Relations (COGR) is providing the most complete guidance on how the executive orders could affect operations, including a summary of executive orders. COGR's mission is to empower an unparalleled US academic research ecosystem by advancing sound federal policies and regulations that are vital to US science and innovation leadership and our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Request access to the COGR membership portal.

Please note this page is dynamic and information could be incomplete.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is tracking the actions of President Trump's administration that affect higher education. Chronicle of Higher Education's Trump's Agenda for Higher Ed Tracker (sign in with your DuckID to access Chronicle content)

FAQs for Researchers

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Email Updates

The OVPRI plans to send weekly email updates on Wednesdays.

The following message was sent to graduate students, tenure track and research faculty, department grant administrators, OVPRI centers and institutes, core facility staff, Government and Community Relations, Office of General Counsel, and OVPRI staff on Wednesday, May 28.

Positive news and recent NSF, DOD news

Grant terminations: 27, totaling $6.4 million
Relevant agencies: NIH, NEA, NEH, and NSF
Active appeals: 21
Terminations lifted: 2 (NIH) 
These figures are current as of 5/28.

I’m pleased to open this week’s message with a few pieces of good news:

  1. Faculty in the College of Education affiliated with the Prevention Science Institute and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health received a notice of award for an approximately $11 million P50 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), titled, “Expanding Access and Accelerating Delivery of Interventions to Promote Mental Health for Underserved Adolescents (ACCESS).” The goal of this center is to improve the mental health of underserved youth, families, and school communities through an optimized, multi-tiered focus on contextual, behavioral, and individual systems.
  2. The NIH T32 Developmental Biology Training Grant, which provides several funded, mentored graduate research positions, was just renewed for its 36th–40th years.
  3. This past Thursday, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction blocking President Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon from carrying out the executive order calling for the secretary to close the US Department of Education, directing the administration to reinstate its employees who lost their jobs in the major reduction-in-force actions in March.

The notice of new awards at NIH signals that Advisory Council review and grant award processes are beginning to operate again. The recent injunction related to the Department of Education, along with the many actions challenging reductions in indirect cost rates (also known as facilities and administrative, or F&A), have shown that the judicial branch of our government is providing checks and balances in ways that are supportive of critical research infrastructure across our nation. 

A few important updates to be aware of this week:

National Science Foundation (NSF): We have learned that some PIs of NSF grants have received requests to sign and submit attestations related to compliance with current federal guidance and priorities. Please do not sign these yourselves, but rather, work with Sponsored Projects Services to obtain a signed institutional letter. If you receive communication from a sponsor and you are uncertain to its meaning or if you can sign, please forward to your post-award team. They will review language with the Office of General Counsel and provide an institutional letter.

Department of Defense (DOD): In last week’s message, we shared a memo indicating that the DOD seeks to implement a 15% indirect cost cap. This cap has not yet been implemented, and you should continue to use our federally negotiated rate when applying for DOD funding. If you receive communication about an indirect cost cap for a current DOD award, please email Sponsored Projects Services and OVPRI.

Prior Emails

 

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