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Brown, along with 12 other universities, filed a lawsuit against the National Science Foundation seeking to stop indirect funding cuts for federally financed research. The suit was filed alongside the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.
This complaint follows similar suits Brown and other educational organizations have filed against the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health for similar cuts.
In fiscal year 2024, Brown spent $34.4 million in funding from the NSF. These indirect costs support administrative functions necessary for federally funded research, according to the lawsuit.
The NSF and the NIH are the two most common agencies where Brown researchers submit their proposals, Vice President for Research Greg Hirth ScM’87 PhD’91 previously told The Herald. Federal funding accounts for nearly 70% of Brown’s research expenditures, according to an analysis by The Herald.
On Friday, the NSF announced they would be limiting indirect research funding to 15%, mirroring similar moves made at the DOE and the NIH. The lawsuit describes this cut as “unlawful,” stating the impacts would be “immediate and irreparable.” According to the NSF, this policy will not retroactively apply to existing awards.
The plaintiffs claimed in their Monday filing that the cuts would “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 NSF declined to comment.
At least four Brown projects have already received grant terminations from the NSF following additional recent updates to NSF guidelines that dictate they no longer will fund projects “not aligned with NSF’s priorities,” including those studying “diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation.”
Brown is also currently facing a $510 million federal funding freeze over its allegations of antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Staff at the NIH have also been instructed to freeze all funding to Brown, but the rationale for doing so remains unclear. University administrators have confirmed that Brown has not received any reimbursements from NIH-funded grants since April 3.
The University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Elise Haulund is a science & research editor and sophomore from Redondo Beach, CA. Concentrating in English and biology, she has a passion for exploring the intersection between STEM and the humanities. Outside of writing, researching and editing, she enjoys ballet-dancing, cafe-hopping and bullet-journaling.
Claire Song is a university news and science & research editor for The Herald. She is a sophomore from California studying Applied Math-Biology. She likes to drink boba in her free time.
