Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
At least 68 dead in migrant shipwreck off Yemen: IOM
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.
Israeli media: 32% of Americans still support "Israel's" war on Hamas, while 60% oppose it.
Israeli media: Core US support for "Israel" hits its lowest, while support for Palestine reaches its highest levels.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports martyrs, injuries in Israeli bombardment of home in Heker al-Jame area in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults

US Campus crisis looms as schools warn of Trump cuts: Report

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 9 Mar 2025 15:07
5 Min Read

Cuts to higher education and research funding by the president pose a threat to US public health, workers warn.

Listen
  • x
  • Pro-Palestinians students camps outside the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford, in England, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP)
    Pro-Palestinians students camp outside the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford, in England, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP)

A recent report by The Guardian highlights the deep and lasting impact of funding freezes, budget cuts, and executive orders from the Trump administration on higher education in the US.

Students, researchers, faculty, and university leaders are facing immediate and long-term challenges, with experts warning that these disruptions could shape the landscape of American academia “for decades to come,” as per the report.

Sarah Spreitzer, vice-president and chief of staff of government relations at the American Council for Education, a nonprofit representing over 1,600 colleges, universities, and related organizations, told The Guardian, “It’s sowing a lot of chaos on campuses”.

“These changes will have long-term impacts on the American public and post-secondary education that I don’t think we can really even start to understand,” she stressed.

Research grants have been slashed or frozen, federal scholarships halted, and efforts to reduce administrative costs for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding to 15% have left institutions scrambling to cover the financial burden, Spreitzer explained.

The Trump administration’s proposed federal budget includes billions of dollars in cuts to research and higher education institutions. Reductions in research funding linked to foreign aid—such as through the US Agency for International Development—have led to lab closures. Trump has also threatened to withdraw federal funding from universities that permit “illegal” protests.

As a result, universities have implemented hiring freezes, layoffs, furloughs, and reductions in graduate admissions. Some institutions have rescinded job offers and scaled back their research operations.

“Institutions are scrambling to figure out how they are going to support those students because they’re unable to access the federal funding, or are they just going to end the programs,” Spreitzer said. “Changing the indirect cost rate doesn’t suddenly make research cheaper to do. Someone is going to have to bear that cost.”

'Institutions are retrenching'

Many universities have already begun to cut programs or prepare for further reductions. The University of Pennsylvania, for instance, has reduced graduate admissions for its medical schools by 35% for fall 2025. Graduate students nationwide have reported that their admission acceptances have been revoked.

Related News

US uses tariffs to strongarm India on Russia ties

China's rare earths restrictions affect Western defense firms: WSJ

Top institutions, including MIT and Stanford, have enacted hiring freezes, while Brown and Johns Hopkins warned this week of potential layoffs due to threats to federal funding.

“Our admissions have been paused for a number of big grad departments,” said Levin Kim, a graduate worker and chair of Higher Education Labor United, a coalition representing over 200,000 academic workers.

Kim, who is also president of UAW Local 4121, representing academic workers at the University of Washington, told The Guardian, “We’re seeing a lot of uncertainty. Careers are being curtailed right now. It’s not like once things are funded, it can just pick right back up. It’s wreaking havoc throughout the whole pipeline.”

He noted that Trump’s policies have created a “big chilling effect” on research funding, despite ongoing legal challenges to prevent these cuts and freezes.

“The attacks on research being carried out right now are attacks on workers as well as American public health infrastructure that will have impacts for decades to come,” Kim said.

“Clinical trials have been paused. Research has been paused on things like Alzheimer’s research and cancer, things that affect everyone. There is a government takeover right now to sign away Americans’ health in order to line the pockets of a few billionaires,” the president of UAW Local 4121 added.

Layoffs, lab closures...

On his part, Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, echoed similar concerns about the impact on faculty and the broader future of higher education, particularly as institutions scale back projects in response to Trump’s anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

“Billions of dollars in research has been frozen, and that’s research on things that every American depends on,” Wolfson said.

“Members of mine having to lay people off, having to close their labs, having to ask for special circumstances to be able to keep rare supplies, like animals, alive. It’s been a complete, utter destruction of the United States research infrastructure,” he added.

Furthermore, Wolfson pointed out that since World War II, the federal government has worked closely with higher education institutions to maintain US leadership in research and development.

“Institutions are retrenching, and they’re going to retrench at pretty quick rates. They’re going to lay people off. Tuition is going to skyrocket and they’re going to cut back on graduate programs. We’re going to train fewer doctors and fewer engineers, and this is going to have a very bad effect on broader American society,” Wolfson warned.

“The Trump administration, at the same time that they’re saying that they’re trying to create a great country, are destroying the sector that’s one of the most critical in having a great, profitable, and healthy democratic country,” he concluded.

Read next: Trump cuts $400 million to Columbia Uni. over pro-Palestine protests

  • United States
  • pro-Palestine protest
  • Campus crisis
  • Freedom of Speech
  • funding cuts
  • US campus protests
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
Protesters chant anti-Israeli slogans as they carry a banner that reads:" Freedom for Palestine, Alliance stop the war," during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Israeli embassy, in Athens, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)

Athens mayor slams Israeli ambassador over Gaza war, graffiti claim

  • Politics
  • 3 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS