Dear colleagues,

Because recent federal actions have caused significant disruption and concern within our community, I will be communicating each Tuesday in SPH Today for the foreseeable future about goings on around BUSPH. These regular check-ins will include actions over the previous week through Monday afternoons, and what might be coming next that could impact us.

I want to make clear that we at BUSPH remain deeply committed to supporting faculty, staff, and students through this period of turmoil. We deeply value all the members of our community and the organization we have built. We will remain focused on our mission.

We learned this week that BUSPH and BMC have received “stop work” orders on certain HRSA and CDC grants. We are trying to understand (and as needed, contest) any consistent factors that are driving these decisions. We expect there to be impact to some of our projects and, it is likely that there will be more ahead.

While the federal funding pause has technically been lifted, and we at BUSPH have received Notices of Award from NIH this week, we are monitoring the Trump administration’s plan to review specific grants to assess their conformity with recent executive orders. New executive orders continue to emerge and may affect other operational areas.

Of note, direct student aid (Federal Pell Grants and Title IV direct loans) have not been affected by the funding pause.

Our guidance as of 2/3/25:

  • Faculty should continue submitting applications in response to active federal award solicitations. Complete applications using the latest posted guidance, even for any components that may appear in conflict with executive orders, to ensure applications are accepted in the system.
  • Updates and agency notices are being shared in real-time on BU’s Office of Research website.
  • Researchers with questions about the administration of their specific grants should continue to work with their grants manager, who can reach out to Brandon Ruggiero at BUSPH or their assigned liaison at OSP as needed. However, as mentioned above, if you receive an official “stop work” order or communication that is threatening or limiting of grant activities, please let me and Dean McClean know immediately.
  • Faculty should continue to teach courses as they were designed. We have an obligation to our students to provide them with the best training possible, and we should continue to do so.
  • If any community member is approached by an outside law enforcement official about accessing University property or requests University information, they should ask the official to wait somewhere appropriate while they contact the BU Police Department at 617-353-2121.
  • BU’s International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) has advised that international students should not travel outside the US (including spring break) until more clarity from the Trump administration is provided. If international students have questions about travel, visa status, or the latest guidance, they should reach out to their ISSO advisor. Check the ISSO website news section for updates and additional information. On Tuesday, February 25 at 2 pm, the ISSO will be hosting a workshop for staff and faculty who advise international students. The focus will be the impact of federal actions to date.

Among many challenging updates last week was a loss of important data sources that the public health community relies on. The internet’s wayback machine at web.archive.org offers a Time Machine of sites and documents that may have been taken down at organizations that have been asked to change their outward Internet look. This may be a helpful resource for those who need to look back and find documents that have been preserved.

Lastly, I encourage all to engage in our community at this time. There are many important, timely events across our school over the next week. In closing, I highlight just a few here:

Wednesday, 2/5 at 1:00 PM, Online (All)
Public Health Conversation: Building Trust Through Action: Black History Month Reflections with Community Leaders

Wednesday, 2/5 at 2:30 PM, Hiebert (Staff)
Staff Meet & Greet with University Provost Gloria Waters

Wednesday, 2/5 at 5:00 PM, Chequers (On-Campus Students)
GSL Dinner Social

Tuesday, 2/11 at 2:30 PM, Hiebert (Faculty and Staff)
Conflict Resolution Training for Faculty and Staff

Thank you,

Michael Stein
Dean ad interim
mdstein@bu.edu

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