Amidst the uncertainty over a variety of federal funding, universities such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are enacting hiring freezes following the extraordinary measures of the Trump administration “widening [their] crackdown on colleges and universities,” according to the Boston Globe.
Simmons is among universities around the country that receive federal funding grants for various research opportunities including National Institutes of Health and National Space Foundation grants. The Office of Research and Fellowships at this time does not have concrete information on long-term national fellowship funding, but is continuously monitoring it.
The measures taken by Harvard and MIT, the first and fifth-wealthiest universities in the United States, bring to light how they believe the Trump administration is disrupting higher education amidst their goal of getting rid of “woke leftist ideologies.” The administration has voted to slash billions of dollars in research funding over what it calls “illegal DEI programs.”
“The Office of Research and Fellowships continues to provide student research and funding opportunities through SURPASs, the Passionate Leaders Project and the Undergraduate Student Research & Conference Funds,” said the Office in a statement to the Voice. “We’re also working with students and encouraging them to explore the world of national fellowships, including wonderful opportunities that aren’t dependent upon federal funding,” they added.
Junior Caroline Meehan applied for a Peer Support Counselor for Psychology Research position at Fenway Health and shortly after was offered an interview. Mere hours before her interview was scheduled to happen, she received an email that the project that her role was defunded by the National Institute of Child and Human Development, causing her interview to be canceled with limited additional information from the Fenway Health team.
Since then, Meehan, a psychology major, has been feeling “discouraged” from applying to psychology research jobs and has since been exploring jobs under the social work umbrella along with mental health technician positions.
Amidst her “vitriolic hatred” of the Trump administration, which has only worsened since it directly affected her job search, Meehan is exploring graduate school internationally, planning to center her personal statement about the censorship of phrases like “LGBTQIA+” along with withheld funding from the Trump administration for research.
“I was really scared [after my interview was canceled],” said Meehan in an interview with the Voice. “It’s understood that Fenway Health is LGBTQIA+ focused, and now it falls under the ‘forbidden words’ and research projects that currently receive funding where funding is at risk.”
Laura Wareck, Associate Vice President of University Communications, did not respond to requests for comment.
