Excellent piece by @brianpjcronin on the consequences of slashing govt-funded science.
https://highlandscurrent.org/2025/12/26/out-there-hard-stop/

#DefendResearch #Funding #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"DEI Under Threat: Collaborative Strategies to #DefendResearch."
https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/12/22/guest-post-dei-under-threat-collaborative-strategies-to-defendresearch/

"None of this is new, and the censorship of scholarship has a long history. As #SaraRouhi explained, 'it’s really easy, particularly in the US where we tend to be very short-sighted, to forget that all of this has happened before,' pointing to an infamous Nature editorial from 1937, calling out the censorship of Jewish researchers in Germany at the time. This editorial is striking in two ways: its argument that scientific inquiry can only develop to its full extent in an atmosphere of political freedom, and that everyone engaged in scholarly inquiry ought to be empowered to pursue their research, wherever it leads."

#Censorship #DEI #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/16/trump-dismantle-national-center-atmospheric-research-climate/87798771007/

"The #Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research [ #NCAR] in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading #climate research labs."

#DefendResearch #Funding #Takedowns #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/16/trump-dismantle-national-center-atmospheric-research-climate/87798771007/

"The #Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research [ #NCAR] in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading #climate research labs."

#DefendResearch #Funding #Takedowns #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

A new #NIH grant provision makes it easier for NIH to terminate a grant without a court overturning the decision. From the Nov 18 announcement: "The recipient agrees that…funding…may…be terminated…if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities."
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-009.html

Comment from Jenna Norton, an "NIH program officer who was put on administrative leave last month": "This provision…is…going to create a huge amount of uncertainty that may make it nearly impossible to do science. How can you ethically recruit somebody into a #clinicaltrial if you can't be sure the administration won't change its mind on its priorities and terminate your study mid-stream?"
https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/118809

#DefendResearch #Funding #Medicine #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

The American Statistical Association just released its 2025 report: The Nation’s Data at Risk.
https://www.amstat.org/policy-and-advocacy/the-nations-data-at-risk--2025-report

From the executive summary: "Immediate action must be taken to halt the severe decline in the federal statistical agencies’ ability to meet their basic mission and be positioned to keep up with increasing information needs and to address uncertainty in the trustworthiness of federal statistics. Top leadership in both the Congress and Executive Branch must prioritize investment in modernization to provide the resources, vision, momentum, and oversight required for a robust, relevant, and efficient statistical system for the nation and affirm the importance of credible and objective statistics."

ht @lschiff

#Censorship #Data #DefendResearch #OpenData #Funding #Statistics #Takedowns #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

A new #NIH grant provision makes it easier for NIH to terminate a grant without a court overturning the decision. From the Nov 18 announcement: "The recipient agrees that…funding…may…be terminated…if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities."
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-009.html

Comment from Jenna Norton, an "NIH program officer who was put on administrative leave last month": "This provision…is…going to create a huge amount of uncertainty that may make it nearly impossible to do science. How can you ethically recruit somebody into a #clinicaltrial if you can't be sure the administration won't change its mind on its priorities and terminate your study mid-stream?"
https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/118809

#DefendResearch #Funding #Medicine #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

The #IMLS just announced that it has "reinstated all federal grants."
https://www.imls.gov/news/statement-agencys-reinstatement-terminated-imls-grants

The #ALA welcomes the news with an important caveat. “We are breathing a sigh of relief, but the fight is not finished. The administration can appeal court decisions. Congress can choose to not fund IMLS in future years."
https://www.ala.org/news/2025/12/ala-welcomes-reinstatement-all-federal-imls-grants-libraries

#DefendResearch #Funding #Libraries #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

Update. The U of Virginia surveyed its community in October on how it should respond to the #Trump compact. The Chronicle of Higher Education got the results through a public-records request.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/uva-asked-its-community-to-weigh-in-on-trumps-compact-heres-what-they-said
( #paywalled)

" 'Nope. Nothing. Nada.' 'Not at all.' 'No'. 'NO.' 'NO!'… Those curt replies were broadly representative of the responses as a whole…The F-word is used nine times…There were nearly 200 references to #UVa’s founder, #ThomasJefferson, almost all of which were in service of the argument that the compact went against his vision of the university. 'Stand your ground,' one wrote. 'You know it’s what Thomas Jefferson would have wanted.' "

#Academia #AcademicFreedom #AcademicMastodon
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #TrumpVResearch #Universities #UVa #USPol #USPolitics

"How Trump 2.0 upended education research and statistics in one year."
https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-trump-upended-education/

"Decades of carefully built #infrastructure aimed at improving and tracking how American children learn vanished in an ideological attack…The first blow came in early February. In a single week, #DOGE terminated more than 100 research contracts collectively worth over a billion dollars on paper…DOGE canceled an 11-year longitudinal study tracking youth with disabilities through high school into college and the workforce. #Data painstakingly collected over five years was effectively discarded overnight…Even core federal datasets were not spared."

#Academia #Censorship #Data #DefendResearch #Education #OpenData #Takedowns #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"Tennessee public libraries close for Trump-inspired book purge."
https://popular.info/p/tennessee-public-libraries-close

"One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) ordered them to remove books with #LGBTQ themes or characters. Hargett suggested that libraries that made such books available to children were violating federal and state law."

#Books #BookBans #Censorship #Libraries #Tennessee #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"‘This is censorship.’ Conference requires abstracts to comply with Trump anti-DEI order."
https://www.science.org/content/article/censorship-conference-requires-abstracts-comply-trump-anti-dei-order

"Planetary scientists planning to attend a prominent conference may soon face a difficult choice: Censor mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion ( #DEI) from their work, or don’t present it at all."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #NASA #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"Scientists across these red states tell 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 they are fearful, disheartened, and less able to focus on their research. All have had to balance personal and professional risks with staying true to their values and identities. Some are fighting back in small ways; others are looking to leave."
https://www.science.org/content/article/red-states-many-academic-researchers-feel-fear-and-resolve

#Academia #Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #TrumpVResearch #Universities #USPol #USPolitics

"Scientists across these red states tell 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 they are fearful, disheartened, and less able to focus on their research. All have had to balance personal and professional risks with staying true to their values and identities. Some are fighting back in small ways; others are looking to leave."
https://www.science.org/content/article/red-states-many-academic-researchers-feel-fear-and-resolve

#Academia #Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #TrumpVResearch #Universities #USPol #USPolitics

"Court permanently blocks Trump’s executive order to dismantle federal agency for America’s libraries."
https://www.ala.org/news/2025/11/court-permanently-blocks-trumps-executive-order-dismantle-federal-agency-americas

"Today [Nov 21], the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down the Trump Administration’s attempts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services ( #IMLS). The decision was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 21 states."

#DefendResearch #Funding #Libraries #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

Update. Five faculty from five institutions argue that "Colleges Must Reject Trump’s ‘Compact’ To Protect Our Democracy."
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2025-11-20/college-university-trump-law-professors-compact-opinion

#Academia #AcademicFreedom #AcademicMastodon #Censorship #DefendResearch #Funding #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics #Universities

"CDC Website No Longer Rejects Autism-Vaccine Link."
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/washington-watch/118619

"The #CDC changed its website on Wednesday to suggest there may be a link between #vaccines and #autism. The site previously stated that studies have shown 'there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD),' and that 'no links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and ASD.' The new page also states that 'studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.' The updated page does not cite any new research."

#DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"Scientists had to change more than 700 grant titles to receive NIH funding. Health disparities researchers fear what’s next."
https://www.statnews.com/2025/10/29/nih-banned-words-analysis-grant-title-changes/
( #paywalled)

"McKay’s is one of more than 700 multiyear grants that changed their titles from 2024 to 2025, according to an analysis of NIH Reporter data by Jeremy Berg, who previously led one of the NIH’s institutes and has been a vocal critic of the administration’s moves at the agency…The vast majority [of these changes] were to remove words and phrases that have become anathema to the administration. Nearly 100 grants have removed “equity” from their title, dozens removed references to “disparities,” and many others removed references to specific racial groups and gender minorities."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Funding #Medicine #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

"Center for Open Science [ #COS] Awarded Grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [ #RWJF] to Preserve and Safeguard Publicly Funded Scientific #Data."
https://www.cos.io/about/news/center-for-open-science-awarded-grant-from-robert-wood-johnson-foundation-to-preserve-and-safeguard-publicly-funded-scientific-data

#DefendResearch #FAIR #OpenData #Preservation #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics