Harvard stands to lose $2.2 billion in federal funding. Researchers fear science will suffer

A sculler rows down the Charles River adjacent Harvard University, astatine rear, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, successful Cambridge, Mass.

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Visitors halt astatine the statue of John Harvard successful Harvard Yard astatine Harvard University, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, successful Cambridge, Mass.

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A runner passes daffodils and dormitories astatine Harvard University, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, successful Cambridge, Mass.

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FILE - People locomotion betwixt buildings, Dec. 17, 2024, connected the field of Harvard University successful Cambridge, Mass.

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Spring buds look connected a histrion adjacent Eliot House, rear, astatine Harvard University, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, successful Cambridge, Mass.

Charles Krupa/AP

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — In a high-stakes standoff, President Donald Trump's medication says it volition frost $2.2 cardinal successful national probe grants for Harvard University, which is pushing backmost connected demands for changes to field policy.

The feud betwixt the Republican medication and the nation's wealthiest assemblage volition beryllium intimately watched crossed higher acquisition arsenic the White House uses national backing arsenic leverage to prosecute compliance with its governmental agenda.

But the interaction volition beryllium felt astir instantly by researchers astatine the Ivy League schoolhouse and its spouse institutions. While immoderate person cheered Harvard's basal against demands to ace down connected protesters and prosecute much viewpoint diverseness among faculty, others interest life-saving technological probe volition beryllium endangered.

Across the assemblage successful Cambridge, Massachusetts, national wealth accounted for 10.5% of gross successful 2023, not counting fiscal assistance specified arsenic grants and pupil loans.

What probe volition beryllium affected?

Harvard has not released a database of affected grants, and it’s imaginable the assemblage doesn’t yet person a wide thought of what mightiness beryllium frozen.

At different campuses deed with backing freezes, the details of the cuts lone became wide implicit clip arsenic enactment orders were halted. At Brown University, a White House authoritative said it was readying to frost fractional a cardinal dollars successful national wealth connected April 3, but assemblage officials said Tuesday they inactive did not cognize which programs mightiness beryllium targeted.

At Harvard, an Education Department authoritative said hospitals affiliated with the assemblage volition not beryllium affected.

Five Boston-area teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School, considered among the world’s apical aesculapian institutions, run arsenic financially autarkic non-profits. Their unit often person teaching appointments astatine Harvard Medical School and their probe is funded mostly by national grants.

But the enactment that could beryllium susceptible to cuts includes probe astatine Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which says 46% of its fund past twelvemonth was funded done national grants. Among different things, this paid for probe connected cancer, Alzheimer's, changeable and HIV.

Why doesn’t Harvard usage its sizable endowment to wage for research?

Harvard has a $53 cardinal endowment, the largest successful the country. But Harvard leaders accidental the endowment is not an all-purpose relationship that tin beryllium utilized for thing the assemblage pleases.

Many donors earmarked their contributions for a circumstantial extremity oregon project. And Harvard has said it relies connected immoderate of the endowment to assistance subsidize tuition costs for mediate people and low-income students.

Last week, Harvard started moving to get $750 cardinal from Wall Street to assistance screen wide expenses. The assemblage has described the effort arsenic portion of contingency readying for a scope of imaginable scenarios

What volition this mean for undergraduate students?

Losing national probe grants could mean less probe opportunities for Harvard undergraduate students. If the backing cuts thrust distant faculty, it could besides mean little vulnerability to top-tier researchers.

Just past period Harvard had expanded fiscal assistance truthful mediate people families wouldn’t person to wage arsenic overmuch for tuition, country and board. It’s not wide whether losing national grants mightiness impact those plans.

Outsiders person suggested Harvard and different universities should chopped backmost connected top-tier amenities to students to escaped up wealth for research.

Harvard enrolls astir 7,000 undergraduate students and astir 18,000 students successful postgraduate programs.

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Associated Press writers Cheyanne Mumphrey successful Phoenix and Collin Binkley successful Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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April 15, 2025|Updated April 15, 2025 8:06 p.m.