News

Biden Science Priorities, NIAID Director, Legacy Admissions

BU IN DC

Nathan Jones of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development began his term as commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research within the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education on August 28th. 

Nicole Huberfeld of the School of Law moderated the third installment of a National Cancer Policy Forum webinar series on access to reproductive health services in the context of cancer care on August 31st. 

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES SCIENCE PRIORITIES

In August, the Biden Administration released its annual memorandum for multi-agency research and development priorities to guide science agencies as they develop their fiscal year (FY) 2025 budgets. New additions in this year's guidance include trustworthy artificial intelligence and recognizing research as an economic driver. The Administration's guidance continues to prioritize health equity, the Cancer Moonshot, addressing climate change, and promoting equity and diversity in STEM. With funding levels for FY25 constrained under budgetary caps set in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (Public Law 118-5), the priorities in the memo are an indication of what areas may see new investments or small funding increases in the year ahead. 

Read the memo

NEW PERSONNEL JOIN SCIENCE, CULTURAL AGENCIES

Last month, several federal agencies important to university researchers announced the arrival of new personnel. The new agency officials include:

• Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo will start this fall as the new director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Marrazzo will be NIAID's first new director in over three decades following the retirement of Dr. Anthony Fauci last December. She is currently the director of the Division of Infectious Diseases of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
• Dr. Patricia A. Areán will be the new division director of services and intervention research at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Areán earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from BU; she most recently was a psychiatry professor at the University of Washington.
• Dr. Denise Caldwell will serve as interim director of the Math and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) at the National Science Foundation (NSF), beginning in October. She will replace MPS Assistant Director Sean Jones who will step down to become deputy laboratory director at the Argonne National Laboratory after 14 years at NSF.
• Ms. Jennie Tse is assistant chair for partnerships and strategic initiatives at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ms. Tse previously worked for the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

BUZZ BITS...

• On August 14th, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Justice jointly released new guidance for universities in the wake the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on race-conscious admissions. The agencies outline how colleges can continue to admit, support, and retain a racially diverse student body. ED also plans to release a report on promising practices that universities can utilize to create inclusive and diverse student bodies this month.
• Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren (D) and Edward Markey (D), along with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), sent a letter last month to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona requesting that the Department of Education help "end preferential treatment given to children of alumni — legacy admissions — and donors." The Senators expressed concern that such admissions preferences will exacerbate inequities and urged Cardona to investigate complaints regarding legacy admissions and withhold federal funding to schools that employ the practice.
• The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has released a Request for Information (RFI) asking for feedback on potential new policies governing the oversight of research involving pathogens and toxins. The RFI builds on a March report by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity which recommended a more expansive, risk-based approach to federal oversight of research with potentially risky pathogens. Responses are due by October 16th.