Professors expressed concern for the future of UCLA’s teaching and research as the Trump administration continues to financially target universities across the country.

The Trump administration has revoked federal grants and contracts from six American universities due to their alleged failure to resolve antisemitism on campus and one university for allowing a transgender swimmer to compete for its women’s swim team, according to the Associated Press. The National Institutes of Health – which awards UCLA about $500 million per year – is currently facing the possibility of a cap on indirect costs for its grants, which would result in an estimated $200 million loss in funding for the university.

The U.S. Department of Education has withheld financial support from Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania since the start of President Donald Trump’s administration in January.

The department announced April 14 that it would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants to Harvard University, according to a statement by the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism – a multi-agency task force created by the Trump administration. This move came after the school refused to comply with a series of terms – including leadership reforms, merit-based admissions changes and student discipline policies, according to a letter signed by officials from the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration.

Alan Garber, the president of Harvard University, said in an April 14 statement that these requests violate the school’s constitutional rights. Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent the freeze on its federal grants and contracts April 21.

William Purdy, a professor of education and information studies at UCLA, said he believes Harvard’s choice to push back against the Trump administration’s demands have set a precedent for other universities who may have their federal funding revoked.

“Harvard’s setting the standards by defending the freedom to learn and to teach and to research,” he said. “Without federal funding, it’s an open question about how many universities will be able to survive financially.”

Purdy added that federal funding helps sustain various UCLA programs, including medical departments that provide life-saving technologies.

Jennifer Silvers, an associate professor of psychology, also said federal funding cuts to universities have particularly affected researchers around the nation.

“I’ve known people who had multi-year studies in place, where they’re having to stop midway through,” she said. “Even if the funding is reinstated, any pause to this funding is incredibly damaging.”

Reduced support from the federal government could impact UCLA’s leadership in biomedical research, Silvers said. She added that research conducted at UCLA explores life-threatening illnesses – such as cancer, dementia, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease.

“There’s just no other way to do this research without federal funding,” she said. “It’s just inexcusable to abandon that search and that fight in an effort to pinch pennies.”

Eddie R. Cole, a professor of education and history, said federal grants also support individuals who work in non-scientific areas such as child development.

“We’ve got researchers at UCLA who work with LA Unified School District,” he said. “There are people who go into schools and help teachers become better teachers and assess the learning environment and bring in more innovative and different techniques that fundamentally change kids’ lives.”

Cole added that funding cuts may also impact graduate-level admission rates across the United States, specifically for PhD programs.

Julia Payson, an assistant professor of political science, said in an emailed statement that federal funding cuts may also influence the quality of learning for undergraduate students – not just graduate student researchers.

“Cuts could limit undergraduates’ ability to work in labs and gain hands-on experience,” she said. “Reductions in funding for graduate students – who often serve as teaching assistants – could also strain instructional support, potentially increasing class sizes or reducing the availability of discussion sections.”

While Payson said she believes faculty will do everything possible to continue advancing undergraduate academia, she added that changes enacted by federal funding cuts would place unavoidable pressure on the system. She added that universities and their staff can respond to funding cuts by sharing the broader implications of their research being eliminated.

“Advocates for higher education should push for stronger coalitions between universities, industry, and community partners to underscore the wide-reaching consequences of disinvestment,” she said.

Silvers also said UCLA should work with other UC campuses to strategically respond to funding cuts.

The UC Academic Council unanimously endorsed a letter entitled “The Defense of the University” on April 8, which called on the UC Board of Regents, UC President Michael Drake and individual campus chancellors to “expend every effort” in defending the University’s research and teaching missions.

Silvers added that she hopes to inform the public about the importance of federal support for biomedical research and education as a whole.

“This is a bipartisan issue and historically has been a bipartisan issue that’s received widespread support,” she said. “Just raising that awareness is one of the most critical things that we can do.”