Dear Colleagues,

Commencement is in two weeks—hurrah. Thank you for all that you do to support our students. They are getting jobs in a tough labor market because of the skills they’ve acquired at BUSPH and the work of our terrific career services staff.

Our research teams remain busier than ever as the study sections begin to meet again. Here is the latest on local and federal politics and policies that affect our research. As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

    • President Gilliam signed an open letter from several hundred university presidents calling for constructive engagement and denouncing “the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education” – https://www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-call-for-constructive-engagement 
    • Last week, ASPPH joined leaders from the Prevention Research Center (PRC) Network in sharing a letter to House and Senate Appropriations leaders, as well as key authorization committees, urging sustained support for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) PRC Program.
    • A new STAT analysis shows that the NIH has reduced new grant funding by at least $2.3 billion since the beginning of the year, coming on top of abrupt terminations to hundreds of research projects. If you want to see for yourself which NIH study sections and advisory councils are being scheduled, you can view Federal Register updates from the NIH here: https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/national-institutes-of-health 
    • NIH released a new policy on Foreign Subawards: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-104.html. Foreign researchers will now likely have to submit a grant application for review, like domestic researchers. According to the plan, research projects will be terminated if they are no longer viable without the foreign subaward funding for ongoing clinical trials with sites abroad will likely collapse. In 2024, NIH issued about 3,700 subawards to institutions abroad and fewer than 900 direct awards to foreign institutions, according to the US government website USASpending.gov. OSP will be meeting on Monday to draft guidance on how we should handle this change – we will share that guidance as soon as its available.
    • As expected, NSF announced its own 15% F&A cap on new awards beginning this week. As with the other proposed agency caps, a lawsuit is expected. Institutions are not required to amend budgets for awards issued before this effective date, nor will they be required to return previously reimbursed indirect costs.
    • On Friday, the administration proposed massive cuts to the federal government’s health agencies in the 2026 budget request. This so-called “skinny budget” is really a draft document and will likely change as it gets filled in over the next months. The cuts, which would start in October, would reduce by 26% the Department of Health and Human Services’ discretionary budget, which doesn’t include spending on health coverage programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The National Institutes of Health would lose nearly $18 billion compared to the 2025 budget, or about 40%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would lose nearly $3.6 billion. One exception to reductions would be $500 million proposed for the Make America Healthy Again initiative kicked off by an executive order earlier this year.
    • The Office of Research maintains a detailed set of guidelines for managing early grant termination; accessing the guidance document requires a BU login. The link is also posted on the Office of Research 2025 Administration Transition Information & Resources. With support from OGC and SP, Boston University now filed its first four appeals of grant terminations.
    • Guidance from the University Office of Sponsored Programs remains unchanged. Any concerns by PIs about non-renewal of federal grant funding, stop work orders, or notices of funding “pauses” should be directed to Dean McClean. PIs should not take personnel actions in response to anticipated federal funding disruptions without prior consultation with and approval from Sponsored Programs, which Dean McClean will help facilitate.
    • All labor requests, travel, and external consultants on unrestricted funds (school money) and discretionary funds continue to fall under the budget controls and a request for approval is required. Please direct any questions to the Associate Dean for Administration and Finance, Dean Lazic at iralazic@bu.edu.
    • One piece of good news: ICE-Initiated SEVIS Record Terminations Were Reversed: At this time, all BU students and recent graduates on OPT have had their terminated F-1 records restored back to active status in SEVIS. ISSO will continue to monitor SEVIS terminations, advise impacted students on options, and monitor SEVIS termination lists. Still, BU is encouraging current international students to weigh personal risks and consider postponing non-essential travel (especially if a new visa is needed to return) until there is more clarity from the Trump administration. Travelers, especially students, should refer to ISSO’s new Travel Decision Guide.
    • The BU Support Pathways website will serve as a centralized hub for information on immigration and visa matters, international travel, mental health, social services, academic support, and more. Please contact supportpath@bu.edu with any questions or concerns.

Thank you again.

Michael Stein
Dean ad interim

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