The President of the University of California just announced a system-wide hiring freeze.

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-news/president-drake-on-the-university-of-california-financial-outlook/


This has been expected for some time as all the UC campuses prepare for severe financial challenges due to sudden, extreme funding cuts from the Federal government.

Does the hiring freeze apply to buying new players from the portal….

LunchTime said:

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Quote:

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the new administration in Washington, D.C., has announced a number of executive orders and proposed policy changes, including ones that threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care, and education support. These actions affect colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, the 2025-26 California state budget calls for a substantial cut to the University's budget.

---

Do state cuts not impact research, care, or education?

This is an odd cause, impact, cause statement. Maybe someone could scale the difference in proposed funding at risk? I will try, but it seems like there is no information.

Gemini says

Quote:

---

Governor Newsom's proposed budget includes a nearly 8% decrease in ongoing state support for both UC and CSU, amounting to roughly $396.6 million for UC and $375.2 million for CSU.

This translates to a potential reduction of $270 million for UC and $375 million for CSU.

---

Which I am not sure I want to try to figure out, so I guess a quarter billion?

Deep Research on ChatGPT had a lot to say, but thinks up to $8b federal funding could be at risk?

Based off the comment about what would be hit:

Quote:

---

Research Grants Nearly $3 billion per year in competitive federal research funding (e.g. NIH, NSF grants) for UC campuses
universityofcalifornia.edu
Cuts to science agencies could significantly reduce this support.

Student Financial Aid Approximately $1.6 billion in federal aid (Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, etc.) that helps over 133,000 UC students afford college
universityofcalifornia.edu
universityofcalifornia.edu
Reductions here would limit college access and increase student debt.

Healthcare/Operational Funding About $3.1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to UC's hospitals and clinics
universityofcalifornia.edu
Federal budget cuts (including an $800billion reduction to Medicaid over 10 years as proposed) threaten these funds, impacting patient care and hospital operations
universityofcalifornia.edu

---

Sorry for the formatting, its just a copy paste from ChatGPT.

If this is what is at risk, it seems kind of like saying "I lost my job. And also there wasn't a quarter in the coin return slot"

Anyway, Thats the best I could do for scale. The total budget for 2024-2025 is apparently $53.5b, so about 15% of revenue at risk?

I think the real story here is that if we had a better coach, Cal Football could easily close this gap.

---

Everyone wants to play let's pretend, but I'll say it anyway. The USA is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. The State of California is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. Both have been on this obvious path for years, if not decades. Little baby steps have been tried and failed, maybe intentionally, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO ACT AS WE HAVE BEEN ANY LONGER.

Because of this willful ignorance, we are at the point of big, real cuts in fat and lean. That means getting back to the core goals of higher education and deciding what new knowledge the State and the nation need from Cal. What expenses have we added in the last 10 years, 20, 30, 40 years, even. Yes, it's been going on that long. How many people think that Cal spends 62% of direct grant money to administer grants? Making those cuts will mean giving serious attention to the organization and its operations. Target #1 - admin. Target #1a - quasi-academic subjects. Maybe nice to have, but gotta go.

The time for tinkering and money wasted on pet projects is over. The chickens have come home to roost.

Sorry, I don't see any roosting chickens. J M Keynes might disagree with you.

Ok, I will expect no tax cuts for the wealthy and corps then if that is the case. We need the savings for bankruptcy concerns.

Go Bears Forever

I understand that if taxes were cut in the early eighties, the increase in tax revenues would soon end the need for any taxes in the next seventeen centuries. So, the Laffer Curve turned out to be a joke instead? Well shut my mouth.

GoCal80 said:

---

The President of the University of California just announced a system-wide hiring freeze.

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-news/president-drake-on-the-university-of-california-financial-outlook/


This has been expected for some time as all the UC campuses prepare for severe financial challenges due to sudden, extreme funding cuts from the Federal government.

---

Good! It's about time. The massive UC bureauracy needs to be seriously downsized.

California cuts will be very small compared to the federal grant cuts. California provides only 12% of the UC budget. 8% of that is only 1%. UC Berkeley is known internationally for research. Indirect costs cover facilities and administration and the overhead paid now does not cover the actual F&A. Watch America's best and brightest scientists leave for Europe or Canada if these attacks on research funding are allowed. They are not just attacking through indirect cost cuts, but are making an entire additional level of cuts to punish universities that have different societal world views from theirs. There are 400 biotech companies in the Bay Area because the founders were scientists at Cal, UCSF and Stanford. Ditto for silicon valley. The government's investment in research has paid huge societal dividends and is under serious threat

Rushinbear said:

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LunchTime said:

---

Quote:

---

the new administration in Washington, D.C., has announced a number of executive orders and proposed policy changes, including ones that threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care, and education support. These actions affect colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, the 2025-26 California state budget calls for a substantial cut to the University's budget.

---

Do state cuts not impact research, care, or education?

This is an odd cause, impact, cause statement. Maybe someone could scale the difference in proposed funding at risk? I will try, but it seems like there is no information.

Gemini says

Quote:

---

Governor Newsom's proposed budget includes a nearly 8% decrease in ongoing state support for both UC and CSU, amounting to roughly $396.6 million for UC and $375.2 million for CSU.

This translates to a potential reduction of $270 million for UC and $375 million for CSU.

---

Which I am not sure I want to try to figure out, so I guess a quarter billion?

Deep Research on ChatGPT had a lot to say, but thinks up to $8b federal funding could be at risk?

Based off the comment about what would be hit:

Quote:

---

Research Grants Nearly $3 billion per year in competitive federal research funding (e.g. NIH, NSF grants) for UC campuses
universityofcalifornia.edu
Cuts to science agencies could significantly reduce this support.

Student Financial Aid Approximately $1.6 billion in federal aid (Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, etc.) that helps over 133,000 UC students afford college
universityofcalifornia.edu
universityofcalifornia.edu
Reductions here would limit college access and increase student debt.

Healthcare/Operational Funding About $3.1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to UC's hospitals and clinics
universityofcalifornia.edu
Federal budget cuts (including an $800billion reduction to Medicaid over 10 years as proposed) threaten these funds, impacting patient care and hospital operations
universityofcalifornia.edu

---

Sorry for the formatting, its just a copy paste from ChatGPT.

If this is what is at risk, it seems kind of like saying "I lost my job. And also there wasn't a quarter in the coin return slot"

Anyway, Thats the best I could do for scale. The total budget for 2024-2025 is apparently $53.5b, so about 15% of revenue at risk?

I think the real story here is that if we had a better coach, Cal Football could easily close this gap.

---

Everyone wants to play let's pretend, but I'll say it anyway. The USA is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. The State of California is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. Both have been on this obvious path for years, if not decades. Little baby steps have been tried and failed, maybe intentionally, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO ACT AS WE HAVE BEEN ANY LONGER.

Because of this willful ignorance, we are at the point of big, real cuts in fat and lean. That means getting back to the core goals of higher education and deciding what new knowledge the State and the nation need from Cal. What expenses have we added in the last 10 years, 20, 30, 40 years, even. Yes, it's been going on that long. How many people think that Cal spends 62% of direct grant money to administer grants? Making those cuts will mean giving serious attention to the organization and its operations. Target #1 - admin. Target #1a - quasi-academic subjects. Maybe nice to have, but gotta go.

The time for tinkering and money wasted on pet projects is over. The chickens have come home to roost.

---

The US has been on the verge of actual bankruptcy all of my life, which is to say it hasn't been on the verge of bankruptcy. US government debt is just not the same as debt for everyone else. If your credit card charged the same interest the US government pays, you'd be running up debt too.

And I suppose your next post will be about how we can't afford to cut taxes.

Donald Trump ran up more debt in his first term than Obama did in two terms. There is no indication that the cuts being made are going to meaningfully reduce the debt. They are just cutting what they perceive to be liberal programs they don't like and those are frankly not a big enough part of the budget to balance it. If they are serious, they need to make serious cuts, cutting fat and lean on the military budget if they want to make any headway on the debt, and they aren't going to do that.

Further, if America's top 20 billionaires were taxed like everyone else, the government would be about a trillion dollars less in debt today. And I don't see anyone doing anything about that. Call me when DOGE finds a trillion in cuts.

California is different. They need to balance the budget every year. The state's income is projected to be lower. Everything is getting cut as a result. Everything. This is no different than any other time of state budget cuts. Everyone is having hiring freezes. They've been preparing for this for over a year. It has nothing to do with trying to trim the fat. It is cyclical. The state's income will rise again and when it does everyone's budgets will rise with them.

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

Rushinbear said:

---

LunchTime said:

---

Quote:

---

the new administration in Washington, D.C., has announced a number of executive orders and proposed policy changes, including ones that threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care, and education support. These actions affect colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, the 2025-26 California state budget calls for a substantial cut to the University's budget.

---

Do state cuts not impact research, care, or education?

This is an odd cause, impact, cause statement. Maybe someone could scale the difference in proposed funding at risk? I will try, but it seems like there is no information.

Gemini says

Quote:

---

Governor Newsom's proposed budget includes a nearly 8% decrease in ongoing state support for both UC and CSU, amounting to roughly $396.6 million for UC and $375.2 million for CSU.

This translates to a potential reduction of $270 million for UC and $375 million for CSU.

---

Which I am not sure I want to try to figure out, so I guess a quarter billion?

Deep Research on ChatGPT had a lot to say, but thinks up to $8b federal funding could be at risk?

Based off the comment about what would be hit:

Quote:

---

Research Grants Nearly $3 billion per year in competitive federal research funding (e.g. NIH, NSF grants) for UC campuses
universityofcalifornia.edu
Cuts to science agencies could significantly reduce this support.

Student Financial Aid Approximately $1.6 billion in federal aid (Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, etc.) that helps over 133,000 UC students afford college
universityofcalifornia.edu
universityofcalifornia.edu
Reductions here would limit college access and increase student debt.

Healthcare/Operational Funding About $3.1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to UC's hospitals and clinics
universityofcalifornia.edu
Federal budget cuts (including an $800billion reduction to Medicaid over 10 years as proposed) threaten these funds, impacting patient care and hospital operations
universityofcalifornia.edu

---

Sorry for the formatting, its just a copy paste from ChatGPT.

If this is what is at risk, it seems kind of like saying "I lost my job. And also there wasn't a quarter in the coin return slot"

Anyway, Thats the best I could do for scale. The total budget for 2024-2025 is apparently $53.5b, so about 15% of revenue at risk?

I think the real story here is that if we had a better coach, Cal Football could easily close this gap.

---

Everyone wants to play let's pretend, but I'll say it anyway. The USA is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. The State of California is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. Both have been on this obvious path for years, if not decades. Little baby steps have been tried and failed, maybe intentionally, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO ACT AS WE HAVE BEEN ANY LONGER.

Because of this willful ignorance, we are at the point of big, real cuts in fat and lean. That means getting back to the core goals of higher education and deciding what new knowledge the State and the nation need from Cal. What expenses have we added in the last 10 years, 20, 30, 40 years, even. Yes, it's been going on that long. How many people think that Cal spends 62% of direct grant money to administer grants? Making those cuts will mean giving serious attention to the organization and its operations. Target #1 - admin. Target #1a - quasi-academic subjects. Maybe nice to have, but gotta go.

The time for tinkering and money wasted on pet projects is over. The chickens have come home to roost.

---

The US has been on the verge of actual bankruptcy all of my life, which is to say it hasn't been on the verge of bankruptcy. US government debt is just not the same as debt for everyone else. If your credit card charged the same interest the US government pays, you'd be running up debt too.

And I suppose your next post will be about how we can't afford to cut taxes.

Donald Trump ran up more debt in his first term than Obama did in two terms. There is no indication that the cuts being made are going to meaningfully reduce the debt. They are just cutting what they perceive to be liberal programs they don't like and those are frankly not a big enough part of the budget to balance it. If they are serious, they need to make serious cuts, cutting fat and lean on the military budget if they want to make any headway on the debt, and they aren't going to do that.

Further, if America's top 20 billionaires were taxed like everyone else, the government would be about a trillion dollars less in debt today. And I don't see anyone doing anything about that. Call me when DOGE finds a trillion in cuts.

California is different. They need to balance the budget every year. The state's income is projected to be lower. Everything is getting cut as a result. Everything. This is no different than any other time of state budget cuts. Everyone is having hiring freezes. They've been preparing for this for over a year. It has nothing to do with trying to trim the fat. It is cyclical. The state's income will rise again and when it does everyone's budgets will rise with them.

---

They (Trump administration) are cutting to be able to claim 'pay-fors' that fund Trump's tax cuts for the rich and big corporations without (theoretically) adding to the national deficit. Still, Elon will continue pimping Trump and the US Government for billions -maybe trillions - in federal subsidies and contracts for SpaceX, Starlink, Tesla, "X" (formerly Twitter), and everything else he can pimp Trump out of. Self-dealing while cutting off the water for myriad federal programs that serve everyday Americans. You know, the ones he lied to (except about the immigrant deportations) to get elected.

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

Rushinbear said:

---

LunchTime said:

---

Quote:

---

the new administration in Washington, D.C., has announced a number of executive orders and proposed policy changes, including ones that threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care, and education support. These actions affect colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, the 2025-26 California state budget calls for a substantial cut to the University's budget.

---

Do state cuts not impact research, care, or education?

This is an odd cause, impact, cause statement. Maybe someone could scale the difference in proposed funding at risk? I will try, but it seems like there is no information.

Gemini says

Quote:

---

Governor Newsom's proposed budget includes a nearly 8% decrease in ongoing state support for both UC and CSU, amounting to roughly $396.6 million for UC and $375.2 million for CSU.

This translates to a potential reduction of $270 million for UC and $375 million for CSU.

---

Which I am not sure I want to try to figure out, so I guess a quarter billion?

Deep Research on ChatGPT had a lot to say, but thinks up to $8b federal funding could be at risk?

Based off the comment about what would be hit:

Quote:

---

Research Grants Nearly $3 billion per year in competitive federal research funding (e.g. NIH, NSF grants) for UC campuses
universityofcalifornia.edu
Cuts to science agencies could significantly reduce this support.

Student Financial Aid Approximately $1.6 billion in federal aid (Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, etc.) that helps over 133,000 UC students afford college
universityofcalifornia.edu
universityofcalifornia.edu
Reductions here would limit college access and increase student debt.

Healthcare/Operational Funding About $3.1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to UC's hospitals and clinics
universityofcalifornia.edu
Federal budget cuts (including an $800billion reduction to Medicaid over 10 years as proposed) threaten these funds, impacting patient care and hospital operations
universityofcalifornia.edu

---

Sorry for the formatting, its just a copy paste from ChatGPT.

If this is what is at risk, it seems kind of like saying "I lost my job. And also there wasn't a quarter in the coin return slot"

Anyway, Thats the best I could do for scale. The total budget for 2024-2025 is apparently $53.5b, so about 15% of revenue at risk?

I think the real story here is that if we had a better coach, Cal Football could easily close this gap.

---

Everyone wants to play let's pretend, but I'll say it anyway. The USA is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. The State of California is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. Both have been on this obvious path for years, if not decades. Little baby steps have been tried and failed, maybe intentionally, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO ACT AS WE HAVE BEEN ANY LONGER.

Because of this willful ignorance, we are at the point of big, real cuts in fat and lean. That means getting back to the core goals of higher education and deciding what new knowledge the State and the nation need from Cal. What expenses have we added in the last 10 years, 20, 30, 40 years, even. Yes, it's been going on that long. How many people think that Cal spends 62% of direct grant money to administer grants? Making those cuts will mean giving serious attention to the organization and its operations. Target #1 - admin. Target #1a - quasi-academic subjects. Maybe nice to have, but gotta go.

The time for tinkering and money wasted on pet projects is over. The chickens have come home to roost.

---

The US has been on the verge of actual bankruptcy all of my life, which is to say it hasn't been on the verge of bankruptcy. US government debt is just not the same as debt for everyone else. If your credit card charged the same interest the US government pays, you'd be running up debt too.

And I suppose your next post will be about how we can't afford to cut taxes.

Donald Trump ran up more debt in his first term than Obama did in two terms. There is no indication that the cuts being made are going to meaningfully reduce the debt. They are just cutting what they perceive to be liberal programs they don't like and those are frankly not a big enough part of the budget to balance it. If they are serious, they need to make serious cuts, cutting fat and lean on the military budget if they want to make any headway on the debt, and they aren't going to do that.

Further, if America's top 20 billionaires were taxed like everyone else, the government would be about a trillion dollars less in debt today. And I don't see anyone doing anything about that. Call me when DOGE finds a trillion in cuts.

California is different. They need to balance the budget every year. The state's income is projected to be lower. Everything is getting cut as a result. Everything. This is no different than any other time of state budget cuts. Everyone is having hiring freezes. They've been preparing for this for over a year. It has nothing to do with trying to trim the fat. It is cyclical. The state's income will rise again and when it does everyone's budgets will rise with them.

---

This has little to do with the state and everything to do with it being unclear at what level the federal government will support academia and academic research. See GoCal80's posts. I won't debate the politics of much federal money should be spent. But I will say that if the federal government was sincere about not hurting academia it would phase in cuts. Cutting huge amounts overnight is meant to cause pain.

Rushinbear is right about one thing. Indirect costs were partly a subsidy to universities. If those subsidies are going to be eliminated there should be a study of how much is actually used to support grants and then a phased-in cut. Not a cut of 75% over a weekend.

(For those not understanding the conversation, along with every federal grant that has direct costs to pay for things like salaries and equipment there are indirect costs to pay for university infrastructure to support the grants like administration, electricity, waste disposal, etc.. Most top places charge about 60% of direct costs for indirect costs. On February 7th the National Institute of Health said it was cutting indirect costs to 15% everywhere effective February 10th, leaving budgetary holes of hundreds of millions of dollars at many universities. These cuts have not been made yet because they are tied up in court.)

Rushinbear said:

---

Everyone wants to play let's pretend, but I'll say it anyway. The USA is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. The State of California is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. Both have been on this obvious path for years, if not decades.

---

Really? Then why aren't interest rates on government bonds at, oh, 1000%? Do you have massive short positions in US and California bonds? If not, then even you don't believe this.

sluggo said:

---

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

Rushinbear said:

---

LunchTime said:

---

Quote:

---

the new administration in Washington, D.C., has announced a number of executive orders and proposed policy changes, including ones that threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care, and education support. These actions affect colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, the 2025-26 California state budget calls for a substantial cut to the University's budget.

---

Do state cuts not impact research, care, or education?

This is an odd cause, impact, cause statement. Maybe someone could scale the difference in proposed funding at risk? I will try, but it seems like there is no information.

Gemini says

Quote:

---

Governor Newsom's proposed budget includes a nearly 8% decrease in ongoing state support for both UC and CSU, amounting to roughly $396.6 million for UC and $375.2 million for CSU.

This translates to a potential reduction of $270 million for UC and $375 million for CSU.

---

Which I am not sure I want to try to figure out, so I guess a quarter billion?

Deep Research on ChatGPT had a lot to say, but thinks up to $8b federal funding could be at risk?

Based off the comment about what would be hit:

Quote:

---

Research Grants Nearly $3 billion per year in competitive federal research funding (e.g. NIH, NSF grants) for UC campuses
universityofcalifornia.edu
Cuts to science agencies could significantly reduce this support.

Student Financial Aid Approximately $1.6 billion in federal aid (Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, etc.) that helps over 133,000 UC students afford college
universityofcalifornia.edu
universityofcalifornia.edu
Reductions here would limit college access and increase student debt.

Healthcare/Operational Funding About $3.1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to UC's hospitals and clinics
universityofcalifornia.edu
Federal budget cuts (including an $800billion reduction to Medicaid over 10 years as proposed) threaten these funds, impacting patient care and hospital operations
universityofcalifornia.edu

---

Sorry for the formatting, its just a copy paste from ChatGPT.

If this is what is at risk, it seems kind of like saying "I lost my job. And also there wasn't a quarter in the coin return slot"

Anyway, Thats the best I could do for scale. The total budget for 2024-2025 is apparently $53.5b, so about 15% of revenue at risk?

I think the real story here is that if we had a better coach, Cal Football could easily close this gap.

---

Everyone wants to play let's pretend, but I'll say it anyway. The USA is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. The State of California is on the brink of actual bankruptcy. Both have been on this obvious path for years, if not decades. Little baby steps have been tried and failed, maybe intentionally, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO ACT AS WE HAVE BEEN ANY LONGER.

Because of this willful ignorance, we are at the point of big, real cuts in fat and lean. That means getting back to the core goals of higher education and deciding what new knowledge the State and the nation need from Cal. What expenses have we added in the last 10 years, 20, 30, 40 years, even. Yes, it's been going on that long. How many people think that Cal spends 62% of direct grant money to administer grants? Making those cuts will mean giving serious attention to the organization and its operations. Target #1 - admin. Target #1a - quasi-academic subjects. Maybe nice to have, but gotta go.

The time for tinkering and money wasted on pet projects is over. The chickens have come home to roost.

---

The US has been on the verge of actual bankruptcy all of my life, which is to say it hasn't been on the verge of bankruptcy. US government debt is just not the same as debt for everyone else. If your credit card charged the same interest the US government pays, you'd be running up debt too.

And I suppose your next post will be about how we can't afford to cut taxes.

Donald Trump ran up more debt in his first term than Obama did in two terms. There is no indication that the cuts being made are going to meaningfully reduce the debt. They are just cutting what they perceive to be liberal programs they don't like and those are frankly not a big enough part of the budget to balance it. If they are serious, they need to make serious cuts, cutting fat and lean on the military budget if they want to make any headway on the debt, and they aren't going to do that.

Further, if America's top 20 billionaires were taxed like everyone else, the government would be about a trillion dollars less in debt today. And I don't see anyone doing anything about that. Call me when DOGE finds a trillion in cuts.

California is different. They need to balance the budget every year. The state's income is projected to be lower. Everything is getting cut as a result. Everything. This is no different than any other time of state budget cuts. Everyone is having hiring freezes. They've been preparing for this for over a year. It has nothing to do with trying to trim the fat. It is cyclical. The state's income will rise again and when it does everyone's budgets will rise with them.

---

This has little to do with the state and everything to do with it being unclear at what level the federal government will support academia and academic research. See GoCal80's posts. I won't debate the politics of much federal money should be spent. But I will say that if the federal government was sincere about not hurting academia it would phase in cuts. Cutting huge amounts overnight is meant to cause pain.

Rushinbear is right about one thing. Indirect costs were partly a subsidy to universities. If those subsidies are going to be eliminated there should be a study of how much is actually used to support grants and then a phased-in cut. Not a cut of 75% over a weekend.

(For those not understanding the conversation, along with every federal grant that has direct costs to pay for things like salaries and equipment there are indirect costs to pay for university infrastructure to support the grants like administration, electricity, waste disposal, etc.. Most top places charge about 60% of direct costs for indirect costs. On February 7th the National Institute of Health said it was cutting indirect costs to 15% everywhere effective February 10th, leaving budgetary holes of hundreds of millions of dollars at many universities. These cuts have not been made yet because they are tied up in court.)

---

True, but you can see the lie in Elon's and Rushin's statements calling "indirect" costs "administrative" costs. They aren't "administrative" costs. They aren't going toward people pushing paper around. Indirect costs are costs that aren't specific to the study. Yes, it is infrastructure, but your examples of electricity and waste disposal is still not capturing it. The cost of the lab is an indirect cost. You need specialized refrigeration for samples, something that you share with other studies, that is an indirect cost. Anything that is essentially equipment or facilities that are shared vs. specifically dedicated to the study are classified as indirect. That is why no one can possibly meet the 15% limit.

I don't know how these things work, but I was wondering if universities could solve for this with an accounting change, effectively charging rental fees for all shared facilities and equipment and then classifying the rental as a direct cost.

Just to be clear, the Trump administration's threats to university funding extend well above and beyond cuts to NIH indirect costs.

They say they are just getting started in making cuts for purely ideological reasons. So far, they've cut $400 million from Columbia, $175 million from UPenn and $800 million from Johns Hopkins. UC Berkeley is definitely in their crosshairs. Also, they have started to cut funding for research on climate change, vaccines, transgender health issues and many other areas of science that are not compatible with their ideological view of the world. Entire colleges and schools at Cal, like the Rausser College of Natural Resources and the School of Public Health, could collapse and would likely bring the much of the rest of the university down with them.

https://senate.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Resolution-to-Establish-a-Mutual-Defense-Compact-for-the-Universities-of-the-Big-Ten-Academic-Alliance-in-Defense-of-Academic-Freedom-Institutional-Integrity-and-the-Research.pdf

UC as a whole or ACC needs to step and do the same.

https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Harvard-Response-2025-04-14.pdf

UC needs to step up and do the same! FOXTROT DELTA TANGO

Rushinbear said:

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bluehenbear said:

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https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Harvard-Response-2025-04-14.pdf

UC needs to step up and do the same! FOXTROT DELTA TANGO

---

I say again, keep your political thoughts to yourself. It just diminishes your point.

---

Please clarify for those of us who may not understand exactly what you mean by "political thoughts" you wish weren't expressed in bluehenbear's post. Thanks in advance!

OsoDorado said:

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Rushinbear said:

---

bluehenbear said:

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https://www.harvard.edu/research-funding/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2025/04/Harvard-Response-2025-04-14.pdf

UC needs to step up and do the same! FOXTROT DELTA TANGO

---

I say again, keep your political thoughts to yourself. It just diminishes your point.

---

Please clarify for those of us who may not understand exactly what you mean by "political thoughts" you wish weren' t expressed in bluehenbear's post. Thanks in advance!

---

First of all, uh oh. Thread derailment alert!

Personally, I see nothing wrong with Harvard's letter. They should be allowed to have an opinion and defend it. Knowing Rushinbear's politics, I suspect there's nothing Harvard could have said that he would have approved of, short of 100% grovelling to the current administration.