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Last updated January 30, 2025

On Wednesday, January 29, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum M-25-14 to rescind OMB Memorandum M-25-13, which had ordered a pause on all federal funding assistance including billions of dollars in grants and loans to colleges and universities. 

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

Guidelines for the Research Community

• 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.
• Reports and deliverables. Prioritize the submission of any technical reports or deliverables that may be 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.
• 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 or modifications to existing grants.

Email Updates

The following message was sent to tenure track and research faculty, senior administrative leaders, department grant administrators, centers and institutes business managers and directors, core facility staff, and Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) staff on Thursday, January 30.

Monitoring federal changes

Good morning,

We are reaching out to acknowledge the immense challenges faced by our research community given the ever-evolving landscape of federal memoranda, executive orders, and other policy updates. The rapid pace of significant changes is unprecedented. The federal funding freeze, followed by the announcement that the original memo is being rescinded, continues to cause uncertainty.

First, we want to acknowledge the level of stress and anxiety caused by this instability. Federal funding at the University of Oregon fuels essential research, scholarship, creative work, and student and community services. For our career research faculty, the new federal administration’s efforts to curtail federal funding are causing immense concerns about current and future research continuity. However, we have been through periods of uncertainty before during recessions and government shutdowns, and the bipartisan support for research has always been steadfast.

Please know that the OVPRI is working closely with UO Government and Community Relations, General Counsel, and our peers in Association of American Universities (AAU), the Big 10, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) to monitor the situation and will share updates as swiftly as possible. We have launched a new webpage dedicated to sharing updates and information. Please review the resources and recommended guidance.

We encourage Principal Investigators and their staff to: 

• Continue with current research projects and submit proposals that have been posted.
• Pay close attention to changes to funding announcements if in the midst of submitting a new grant.
• Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations, as anticipated future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.

If you receive any stop work orders or modifications to existing grants, please forward all communications to OVPRI and the Office of General Counsel. 

We appreciate the dedication of our vibrant research community and are here to provide support, resources, and guidance as we navigate through these changes.

With gratitude for your efforts and contributions,

Anshuman “AR” Razdan
Vice President for Research and Innovation

The following message was sent to UO faculty, departmental grant administrators, and officers of administration active on grants on Thursday, January 23.

UO is tracking the federal agency pause on external communications and activities

Dear colleagues,

As you are likely aware, the Trump Administration has directed federal agencies that fund research to comply immediately with recent Executive Orders. In addition, directives have also suspended federal advisory committees, including review panels.

We understand that this news is creating considerable anxiety, especially for those whose work or funding relies on communication and collaboration with these agencies. While we continue to monitor the situation, it’s important to note that it is common for new administrations to pause existing programs and policies during transitions as new agency leadership is onboarded and they review policy objectives.

The UO is working closely with the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), and other associations to determine the nature of the operational slowdown and to get more information, which will be shared as we learn more about this rapidly evolving situation.

Faculty with questions are encouraged to reach out to the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) by emailing vpri@uoregon.edu. Before taking any action that may be disruptive to work or if you receive information directly from program officers, please immediately contact your unit Departmental Grant Administrator (DGA) and OVPRI. If you believe you have received a request that may disrupt your work, please copy the Office of General Counsel at gcounsel@uoregon.edu.

Sincerely,
Anshuman “AR” Razdan, Vice President for Research and Innovation
Kevin Reed, Vice President and General Counsel
Betsy Boyd, Senior Associate Vice President, Federal Affairs