UF is urging its faculty and staff to continue with business as usual after the Trump administration announced a temporary pause on all federal financial assistance, which includes billions of dollars in federal grants and loans for universities nationwide.
In 2024, UF Research received about $581 million in federal funding, according to its website.
David Norton, the Vice President for Research, said UF is working to interpret the orders and UF Research is closely tracking the latest developments, according to an email sent Tuesday to faculty and staff.
Norton said the pause, which aims to give the new administration time to align federal programs with Trump’s priorities, is “common for new administrations to review,” but he cautioned faculty and staff against making additional financial commitments.
The goal of the freeze, according to a memo from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is to provide the administration time to review federally funded programs and determine whether they align with President Donald Trump’s new administration. Per the order, it’s meant to help eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, “woke gender ideology” and the Green New Deal.
More than $3 trillion of $10 trillion the federal government spent was spent on federal financial assistance in 2024, according to the memo. The memo further cited “ending wokeness” and “unleashing American energy” as part of its focus.
The freeze will go into effect Feb. 3 following a federal judge’s ruling and temporarily pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” according to the OMB memo.
The Federal Student Aid, an office within the U.S. Department of Education, said “assistance received directly by individuals” would not be impacted.
Norton also recommended UF researchers to sign up for agency alerts, and advised researchers to reconfirm their proposal deadlines and check the status of funding announcements.
UF Graduate Assistants United, a labor union representing graduate assistants at the university, noted if federal grants and loans were to be paused, it would potentially jeopardize whole lines of research, according to an email statement sent by UF GAU.
Its members already struggle with housing and salary issues, The Alligator previously reported.
“Due to the multiple places these grants go this could mean less money to run the university, apart from impacting people individually,” UF GAU wrote.
But GAU wouldn’t be the only ones affected. Unions across the state and nationally find themselves at a crossroad, too, according to the graduate union.
Federal agencies will review programs, projects and activities subject to the pause by Feb. 10, according to the memo.
UF Research said the university will share more information as it becomes available.
Contact Vivienne Serret and Grace McClung at vserret@alligator.org and gmmclung@alligator.org. Follow them on X @vivienneserret and @gracenmcclung.
Grace McClung is a third-year journalism major and the university administration reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, Grace can be found running, going to the beach and writing poetry.
Vivienne Serret is a UF journalism and criminology senior, serving as the Fall 2024 race and equity reporter for The Alligator's Enterprise desk. She previously worked as a columnist and previously reported for The Alligator's university desk as the student government reporter. She loves karaoke and lifting at the gym.
