By Donald Gilpin
Princeton University last week announced that it was joining 12 other universities and three academic associations in a lawsuit against National Science Foundation (NSF) cuts to critical research. This was only the latest of a number of initiatives the University has taken, including statements made by its President Christopher L. Eisgruber and others, in responding to threats of federal funding curtailment and encroachments on academic freedom.
Adding to the budgetary threats facing the University is the possibility of a major increase in taxes on college and university endowments, which is part of a proposed Republican tax bill to be debated in Congress this week.
The lawsuit came in response to the NSF’s attempt to cut the rate at which it reimburses research universities for indirect costs, known as facilities and administrative costs, capping reimbursements at 15 percent of total direct costs.
“If NSF’s policy is allowed to stand, it will badly undermine scientific research at America’s universities and erode our nation’s enviable status as a global leader in scientific research and innovation,” the lawsuit states.
“The effects will be immediate and irreparable,” it continues. “If indirect cost rates are cut to15 percent, the amount and scope of future research by universities will decline precipitously. Vital scientific work will come to a halt, training will be stifled, and the pace of scientific discoveries will slow. Progress on national security objectives, such as maintaining strategic advantages in areas like AI and quantum computing, will falter. And because of all this, America’s standing as a world leader in scientific discovery will decline.”
The academic associations participating in the lawsuit, which include the Association of American Universities of which Eisgruber is chairman of the board of directors, claimed, “These reimbursements help cover the real and necessary costs associated with performing groundbreaking research on behalf of the American people.”
On another front, Princeton University has launched a new campaign called Stand Up for Princeton and Higher Education, which is calling on alumni, faculty, students, and allies to support and advocate for Princeton and other American colleges and universities that are facing the Trump administration’s attacks.
“Funding cuts, threats to academic freedom, and endowment taxes” jeopardize the benefits derived from colleges and universities that “help strengthen America’s economy, enhance its security, and ensure that our nation stays competitive and healthy,” wrote Princeton University Deputy Vice President for Alumni Engagement Jennifer L. Caputo in an April 30 email to alumni announcing the launch of Stand Up, which includes a website and newsletter.
The Stand Up newsletters have urged readers to speak up and to contact their representatives in Congress in support of academic freedom and freedom of speech, against cuts in federal funding to research and financial aid to students, and against taxes on university endowments.
The Stand Up campaign, according to Princeton Alumni Weekly (PAW), grew out of Eisgruber’s many encounters with alumni who have asked how they can help to push back against the criticisms and threats being leveled at Princeton and other universities.
“My answer — in addition, of course, to mentioning Annual Giving — is to say, look, please help us to tell the University’s story,” said Eisgruber, as quoted in PAW. “We need people to understand higher education, and we need people to understand Princeton, and we need people to understand why it matters.”
On April 1 Princeton received notice from government agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Defense Department, that they were suspending a number of research grants, apparently totaling about $210 million, and apparently in response to an ongoing investigation of antisemitism on campus involving complaints over alleged antisemitism during last spring’s pro-Palestine demonstrations.
In an April 1 email to the University community Eisgruber wrote, “Princeton will comply with the law. We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism. Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University.”
Unlike Harvard University and Columbia University, Princeton has not yet received any demands from the government or explanation for the suspension of funding.
On April 9 the Department of Commerce curtailed an additional $4 million in funding for climate research at Princeton, claiming that the research “exaggerated climate threats,” exposed students to “climate anxiety,” and was “no longer in keeping with the Trump administration’s priorities.”
Eisgruber continues to be a leading voice in advocating for the value of universities and their need for academic freedom. In voicing his support for Harvard and its President Alan Garber’s resistance to intrusive federal initiatives, Eisgruber quoted Garber, in an April 14 post on LinkedIn: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
In a number of recent media appearances — including an essay in The Atlantic, interviews with Bloomberg, NPR, The New York Times, and others — Eisgruber has been outspoken in his support for universities and for the partnership of federal government and the universities, as well as for freedom of speech and academic freedom.
“These are extraordinarily difficult circumstances, but we’re going to stand strong for our values at Princeton, and I think we have a community that is united behind those values,” Eisgruber said in an April 6 NPR interview.