Beltway BUzz
Washington, DC, is a busy place with a lot of moving parts. Beltway BUzz provides updates on Congressional and federal agency activities, announces key federal personnel changes, highlights grant solicitations, and features the many BU faculty and staff who participate in Washington activities.
If you’re a BU employee and are interested in joining our mailing list, provide us with your email below.
President’s Budget; NIJ; Geospatial Symposium
BU IN DC Molly Heald (SSW'26) of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health attended the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy's Social Work Day on the Hill and Student Advocacy Day on March 25th and 26th. TRUMP'S PROPOSED BUDGET SUPPORTS PELL GRANTS, CUTS RESEARCH FUNDING On Friday, the White House released the President's Budget... More
Campus Espionage; PCAST; DARPA Biological Technologies
BU IN DC Maxwell Palmer and Thomas Larsen ('26) of the College of Arts & Sciences discussed the importance of federal investment in social science research with Congressional offices as part of the Consortium of Social Science Associations 2026 Advocacy Day on March 24th. Catherine Fazio of the Questrom School of Business spoke at the... More
NIH Director; SBIR; Antisemitism Report
BU IN DC Dean Adnan A. Hyder and a team of faculty and staff from the School of Public Health attended the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health’s annual meeting from March 18th to 20th. Kevin Outterson of CARB-X met with Congressional offices and Department of Health and Human Services officials to... More
Foreign Influence; MA Priorities; College Sports
BU IN DC Timothy Longman and Tsitsi Musasike of the Pardee School of Global Studies attended an alumni and student reception on March 9th. Musasike and Nick D'India accompanied Pardee graduate students as they spent the week in Washington, DC, learning about careers in the nation's capital. Kurt Cavender and Cheryl Lai of the BU Center for the Humanities urged policymakers to... More
NASA; Book Promotion; DOE Early Career
BU IN DC Anthony Jack of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development addressed the American Council on Education (ACE) annual meeting on February 27th. Mary Churchill of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Developmentattended the ACE Women's Network Leadership Conference on February 27th and 28th. Leslie Dietiker of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development attended the LEARN... More
State of the Union; NSF Director; DARPA Biological Technologies Office
BU IN DC Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Kenneth Lutchen, Roscoe Giles and Yannis Paschalidis of the College of Engineering, and Lloyd Munjanja of Research Development participated in the Department of Energy Genesis Mission Summit on February 18th. Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer Nicole Tirella attended the 2026 Summit on Higher... More
NEH Chair; Early Career Webinar; DOE Lighthouse Challenges
BU IN DC Dean Elise Morgan of the College of Engineering participated in the 2026 Engineering Deans Council Public Policy Colloquium and met with Congressional offices between February 9th and February 11th. BUZZ BITS... Last week, President Donald J. Trump nominated Michael McDonald to be the chairperson of the National Endowment for... More
NIH Director; DOE Advisory Committee; NASA Policy
BU IN DC President Melissa Gilliam participated in the Association of American Universities Summit on Research Universities and the Public Good on February 2nd. Dolores Acevedo-Garcia of the School of Social Work served as a panelist at the Brookings Institution's "Pathways to Reduce Child Poverty: Impacts of Federal Tax Credits" briefing on February... More
Accreditation; Language and Being Human; USDA
BUZZ BITS.... Last Friday, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the spending bills that fund research activities at the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Energy, and National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities for fiscal year 2026. The new law rejects the Trump Administration's proposed... More
NIH & Pell Grants; Quantum; NEA
HOUSE APPROVES NIH INCREASE, REJECTS PELL GRANT CUTS Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bills for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Education (ED), and Department of Defense (DOD) that reject the Trump Administration's proposal to significantly reduce federal investments in medical research... More