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Last updated April 18, 2025

Federal updates and new FAQs page for researchers

Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) leadership are diligently working with the Office of the General Counsel and the president’s leadership team to understand the impacts to the university and to develop responsive strategies.  

Cuts to Department of Energy Facilities and Administrative Rate 

On Friday, April 11, the Trump administration announced it would again attempt to slash funding for critical American research. This time it announced it would cut the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate (also known as indirect costs) to 15% for all Department of Energy (DOE) research grants to colleges and universities. 

This action would have an immediate and dire impact on critical energy, physical sciences, and engineering research nationwide. The proposed cap sets a precedent that could continue to undermine federal research investments by other agencies. On Monday, April 14, the American Council on Education (ACE), the Association of American Universities (AAU), and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) jointly filed a new lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeking to halt the proposed DOE F&A cut. 

On Wednesday, April 16, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order in the above case, halting the policy nationally. Temporary restraining order against proposed April 2025 Department of Energy rate cap. 

The DOE may file a response by April 25, after which a hearing is set for April 28 for the court to consider an injunction. What this means for UO principal investigators (PIs) with current DOE funding: 

• Because the temporary restraining order halts the policy from being applied to existing DOE grants until otherwise ordered by the court, principal investigators and departmental grant administrators are advised to use the UO’s existing applicable F&A rate for proposal submissions.
• PIs are encouraged to continue spending award money as planned unless they receive a specific notice of termination from DOE, in which case, please immediately contact OVPRI (vpri@uoregon.edu) and General Counsel (gcounsel@uoregon.edu). Do not sign attestations if requested before consulting OVPRI and General Counsel. 

For UO PIs in the process of applying for DOE funding, please prepare your application using the UO’s approved F&A rate. 

Updates on NIH lawsuits 

As noted above, our AAU, APLU, and ACE partners understand that fighting the proposed reduction to the F&A rate at the NIH, and now DOE, is critically important. The administration’s actions bypassed federal rulemaking protocols and have wide-reaching implications for the American research enterprise. As of April 14, the NIH has filed an appeal of the injunction with the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Staff in OVPRI, General Counsel, and senior UO leadership are working with peers in the aforementioned advocacy groups and our Big Ten Academic Alliance colleagues to keep close watch on the situation.  

Further, the UO provided evidence in support of one of the multiple legal challenges to the NIH’s termination of grants. These lawsuits have sought court orders requiring NIH to follow the law, including the Appropriations Clause and required procedures involving negotiated indirect cost rates. 

Determining next steps for terminated NEH grants 

We acknowledge the discouraging news received by members of the UO faculty last week notifying them of terminated National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awards, several of which were in mid-stream. 

We are working with the affected faculty to determine next steps, including assessing our options to appeal the terminations. 

It is heartening to know we have the full support of Oregon’s US senators as well as US Representatives Dexter, Bynum, Hoyle, Salinas, and Bonamici. Sen. Merkley has released a statement on the cuts to NEH grants and its entire staff, including the acknowledgement of one of the UO’s NEH grants. The Oregon delegation has pressed the Trump Administration to implement the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025 in a way that follows the funding set by Congress in fiscal year 2024 by restoring NEH and the impactful grants it gives to communities across the country. 

Updates from Friday’s open forum and new FAQs page 

Finally, I want to express my thanks and appreciation to the nearly 300 people who attended Friday’s research open forum. In particular, I want to thank Provost Chris Long for sharing his perspective and his compassion for the research community.  

To answer one of the questions raised at the open forum: The one-time across-the-board payment negotiated between the UO and United Academics will not need to be charged to sponsored projects—the costs for this payment for grant-funded faculty will be absorbed centrally, half of which will be covered by OVPRI.  

OVPRI has created a FAQ webpage to provide answers to many of the questions asked on Friday. Though we do not have all the answers at this time, the FAQ page will continue to be updated, just as our Updates on Federal Executive Orders and Research Activities page is frequently updated. A DuckID is required to access the FAQs. 

Guidelines for the Research Community

UPDATE (April 18, 2025): OVPRI has adopted a process to appeal the termination of contracts and grants by federal agencies (requires DuckID).

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.
• 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.
• Datasets. 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 or modifications to existing grants.

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.