News

Gender Equity; NOAA; Webinar

BU IN DC

College of Engineering Dean ad interim Elise Morgan attended the American Society of Engineering Education’s Public Policy Colloquium on February 3rd and 4th. She also discussed the College’s federally-funded research with Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and the office of Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) on February 5th.


ADMINISTRATION ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER, GUIDANCE ON GENDER EQUITY

On Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order that directs federal agencies to consider rescinding federal grants to educational organizations that allow transgender women to participate in women's athletics. In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association changed its policy to restrict participation in women’s athletics to students assigned female at birth. The order follows updated guidance from the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights last week that clarifies the agency will enforce the 2020 version of the Title IX rule governing gender equity in educational settings. The 2020 rule had already been in place for many schools, including BU, due to lawsuits.

Read the executive order


BUZZ BITS...

  • President Donald J. Trump nominated Dr. Neil Jacobs to be the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). Jacobs is an atmospheric scientist who served as acting NOAA Administrator during President Trump's first term. His nomination will need confirmation from the U.S. Senate.
  • On Monday, the President nominated Conner Prochaska as director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E). Prochaska served as chief commercialization officer for the Department of Energy during President Trump's first term.
  • The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on "The State of American Education" on Wednesday. Witnesses sharply criticized the cost of college and the federal loan programs, while Committee Democrats decried the President's plan to dismantle the Department of Education.
  • On Wednesday, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing entitled "The State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership." Participants discussed competition with China, approaches for diversifying the pool of American scientists, and the impact of recent executive orders on the scientific enterprise.

BU NEWS YOU CAN USE...


 

Federal Outlook for Research Under the New Administration and Congress

White House Lawn
BU faculty and staff are invited to participate in a Zoom webinar with federal policy experts to learn about the research priorities of the new White House administration and strategies for positioning your research in this new environment on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The session will feature Vice President for Federal Relations Jennifer Grodsky and Naomi Webber and Eve Granatosky from Lewis-Burke Associates, a federal lobbying and consulting firm in Washington, DC.

Don't forget to RSVP

As a reminder, the Office of Research is posting regular updates relevant to the research community on our website, and the Sponsored Programs office (ospera@bu.edu) remains the best point of contact for award-specific questions.

 

Executive Orders; Personnel; Foreign Influences

BU IN DC

President Emeritus Robert A. Brown spoke at the "Equitable and Effective Teaching in Undergraduate STEM Education: A UERU Call to Action Convening" on January 24th.


WHITE HOUSE WITHDRAWS FUNDING FREEZE MEMO, ISSUES CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM ORDER

On Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump withdrew Memorandum 25-13, which directed federal agencies to freeze federal spending temporarily. A federal judge halted implementation of the memorandum before it went into effect, following a lawsuit from 23 state attorneys general, including Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. Following the rescission of the memo, the White House press secretary stated that the administration will continue to review federal spending to assess compliance with the President's previously issued executive orders which ask federal agencies not to fund activities related to diversity, environmental justice, and "gender ideology."

The President also issued an executive order on Wednesday that directs federal agencies to report back within 60 days on the legal tools they can utilize to combat antisemitism on college campuses. A fact sheet on the order references international students who participated in campus protests related to the Middle East and the order asks federal agencies to identify strategies for ensuring that colleges understand the rules governing when students holding non-immigrant visas may be removed from the country.

Stay up to date on the federal funding review


TRANSITION UPDATES: ACTING DIRECTORS FOR NIH AND CDC


BUZZ BITS...

  • Yesterday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled "Malign Influence of the People's Republic of China at Home and Abroad." In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) said he organized the hearing in part to "encourage our national security community to play a larger role to counter the Chinese influence in American universities." A witness from the Center for Research Security & Integrity described "research collaborations of concern" and expressed concerns about talent recruitment programs.
  • Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., faced sharp questioning from Senators during two confirmation hearings this week on vaccines, abortion, and other matters. The Senate is expected to vote on his nomination next week.
  • Welcome to our many new Beltway BUzz subscribers! We publish on Friday mornings when Congress is in session. We hope our weekly newsletter is helpful in your work.

 

H5N1, Fluoridated Water, Education Influencers

FACULTY EXPERTS

Farmer holding goat with eggs in chicken eco farm, free range chicken farm.

The Rapidly Evolving Avian Flu

BU Professors David Hamer and Jessica Leibler weigh in on what we should be doing to minimize the rapidly growing threat of H5N1 virus in the year ahead.

Stop the spread


RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Making Sense of the Fluoridated Water Debate

It would be a mistake to eliminate fluoride from public water supplies, especially for poor and vulnerable populations, two experts from the BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine warn.

Learn more


ON THE CHARLES RIVER

Three BU Faculty Named Top Educational Policy Influencers

BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Professors David Chard, Joshua Goodman, and Anthony Abraham Jack were recently named among the top most influential scholars in educational policy and practice.

Check them out


THOUGHT LEADERS

In Case You Missed It...

NASA touted the launch of LEXI, the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager developed by BU College of Engineering Professor Brian Walsh... BU virologist Nancy Sullivan explains to ProPublica the value of basic research when combating infectious disease... BU Law Professor Madison Condon talks about California's Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan as the Los Angeles fires continue in Rolling Stone... BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Professor and former elementary school teacher Olivia Chi discusses restructuring teacher pay to address workforce shortages in The Boston Globe.


 

Executive Orders; Energy Leader; BU Impact

BU IN DC

Rena Conti of the Questrom School of Business attended the White House Cell and Gene Therapy Forum on January 8th.


TRUMP ASSUMES PRESIDENCY, ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDERS

On Monday, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. During his inauguration speech, he touted America's explorers and innovators, pledged to "end the chronic disease epidemic," and promised to "forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based."

Following his inaugural address, President Trump issued several executive orders. Among other topics, the orders call for enhanced vetting for foreign nationals, direct federal agencies to identify nonprofit sector practices that violate federal anti-discrimination laws, require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue future guidance on the federal definition of biological sex, announce plans to withdraw from both the Paris Agreement on climate change and the World Health Organization, and reestablish the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Learn more


BUZZ BITS...

  • The National Institutes of Health issued a temporary pause in public communication, advisory committee meetings, and grant awards while the new administration staff comes on board and learns their new roles and responsibilities. The communications pause is similar to those issued during previous presidential transitions and some press reports indicate it will be lifted by February 1st.
  • President Trump announced he intends to nominate Dr. Darío Gil as the Undersecretary for Science and Innovation at the U.S. Department of Energy, overseeing the agency's basic and applied research. Gil is currently the director of IBM Research and chair of the National Science Board, which advises the National Science Foundation (NSF).
  • The NSF announced that Dr. James McManus will serve as acting director of the NSF Geosciences Directorate while the agency continues its search for a permanent leader. He succeeds Dr. Alexandra Isern, who stepped down in December. McManus has led the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences since July 2022.

BU SHARES IMPACT WITH FEDERAL POLICYMAKERS

BU Federal Relations recently released new fact sheets highlighting research advancements from BU scholars made possible by federal investments in science. The fact sheets also describe how federal and BU-provided student aid empower undergraduates and explain BU's impact across all Massachusetts Congressional districts and every New England state. These documents are shared with lawmakers as the University advocates for increased federal support for research and student aid.

Read the fact sheets


 

OSTP Leader; Stephen Miran; Social Policies

BU IN DC

Ayse Coskun of the College of Engineering attended a Council on Foreign Relations roundtable on energy, national security, and climate policy issues on January 17th.


TRANSITION UPDATES: TRUMP PICKS SCIENCE, AI LEADERS

Last month, President-elect Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Michael J.K. Kratsios as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Kratsios served as a political appointee in the White House science office during the first Trump Administration, including two years as Chief Technology Officer. He has held several positions in Silicon Valley technology companies. The President-elect also announced that Dr. Lynne Parker, who oversaw artificial intelligence at OSTP during the previous Trump Administration, will serve as executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) and counselor to Kratsios. Parker is an associate vice chancellor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and leader of the AI Tennessee Initiative. Sriram Krishnan will be senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence at OSTP; he has been a venture capitalist and podcaster in Silicon Valley.

Learn more


BUZZ BITS...

  • President-elect Donald Trump announced he plans to nominate BU alumnus Stephen Miran (CAS '05) as the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Miran received a bachelor's degree in economics from BU and a doctorate in economics from Harvard University. He served as an economic policy adviser in the Treasury Department during Trump's first term and currently works in investment management.
  • On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would prohibit transgender women from participating in women's athletics at colleges, elementary schools, and secondary schools. The Protection of Women and Girls Act (H.R. 28) was passed by House Republicans on a largely party-line vote, with two Democrats supporting the bill and one Democrat voting present. The U.S. Senate has not indicated if it will consider the bill.
  • In December, House Republicans released an Antisemitism Staff Reportfollowing a months-long investigation of colleges. The report contends that universities failed to stop antisemitism on their campuses, did not impose meaningful discipline for those who engaged in antisemitic conduct, and expressed hostility to Congressional oversight.

EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE

On January 19th at 4 p.m., the Office of Research will host "How Social Policies Shape Our Lives from Birth to Old Age," the latest event in its popular Research on Tap series. Across the globe, governments are grappling with how to design policies that meet the needs of diverse and aging populations, address widening inequalities, and promote overall societal well-being. This event, curated by Professors Deborah Carr, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, and Loretta Lees, will showcase the research of BU faculty across schools and colleges who examine the impacts of social policies on children, individuals of working-age, and older adults, and suggest policy initiatives to further enhance well-being across the life course. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet potential research collaborators during a reception following the event.

RSVP today