Loyola Research Designation Upgraded While Provost Monitors Funding Changes

Loyola was designated as an R1 Research Institution Feb. 19, meaning the university has total research expenditures exceeding $50 million and confers more than 70 doctorates annually, according to Loyola Today. 

A designation of R1 status is given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education, representing the highest level of research activity in the classification, according to Carnegie Classifications. 

Despite this milestone, many faculty members remain uncertain on how changes in the federal government could impact funding for future research projects.

The Office of the Vice Provost created a News and Updates webpage to provide students and faculty with up-to-date information on how external and internal research may be impacted by shifts in federal policy.

The White House issued a memo Jan. 27 calling for a funding freeze in order to conduct an ideological review of all federal grants and loans, The Associated Press reported. Universities like Loyola began to plan ahead in order to mitigate any negative impacts of halted funding.

The memo was rescinded Jan 29, The AP reported, leaving the university in a state of confusion. 

Meharvan Singh, vice provost for research, said the goal of this new website is to clarify directives and eliminate confusion.

“Whether it was the executive orders or a memo from the Office of Management and Budget, it was kind of a confusing time and still is,” Singh said. “I just kind of wanted to eliminate some of the anxiety associated with just being confused over the falling of information that went back and forth.”

The areas universities are navigating are DEI programs and National Institutes of Health grant funding, according to Singh. 

The federal government proposed capping indirect cost rates for NIH grants at 15%, The AP reported. This is significantly lower than what Singh said Loyola’s current rates are — 45% at the Water Tower and Lake Shore Campuses and 54% at the Health Sciences Campus.

“Many universities, including Loyola, are worried this will hinder research,” Singh said. “This funding supports infrastructure and the ability to discover solutions to major societal challenges.”

The university’s new R1 designation doesn’t necessarily grant increased access to federal research funding, but it does serve as a marker of Loyola’s accomplishments in securing grants and producing doctoral students, according to Provost and Chief Academic Officer Douglass Woods. 

While many of these grants focus on environmental and social issues on the Lake Shore Campus, Woods said many may not realize the extent of work that goes on at the Health Sciences Center, with Loyola’s biggest sources of federal research funding being the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Both organizations started releasing grants after two judges intervened and blocked the cuts in medical research funding.

For now, a federal injunction has placed the cost cap on hold, but faculty remain cautious. Loyola leadership is monitoring updates and working with the provost and finance offices to plan for potential changes. Leadership at University of Illinois Chicago wrote an open letter Feb. 10 criticizing these cuts and emphasizing the necessity of their research.

While faculty members have voiced concerns to him, Singh said he encouraged them to stay the course as he doesn’t want uncertainty to disrupt important research.

Associate Professor in the Department of Health Informatics and Data Science and Department of Surgery Francisco Iacobelli said he believes the new R1 status won’t shift expectations in research. 

“I don’t feel pushed to do more research because of this,” Iacobelli said. “It’s a recognition that we’ve been maintaining high standards, not a mandate to increase research output.”

With his research mainly being funded by the NIH and NSF, Iacobelli said he’s now considering private funding sources to mitigate potential financial instability.

“I won’t stop applying for federal funding, but I’m not putting all my eggs in that basket anymore,” Iacobelli said. “We’re playing with people’s lives when funding gets cut unexpectedly.”

Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology Katherine L. Knight said she was concerned over potential funding restrictions, which could result from the Trump administration’s proposed cuts. While private and corporate partnerships may help with filling gaps in funding, Knight said these sources don’t provide the same level of support as federally issued grants. 

She also said additional legislative proposals — like the bill currently in Congress aiming to restructure the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — may create further delays in securing grants as the logistics of re-organizing the department get sorted out. 

“This could cost Loyola millions in indirect costs from the NIH — funds that are crucial for infrastructure and supporting research personnel,” Knight said. “No one knows what’s going to happen, and faculty have been told that things will continue as normal, but we don’t know how long that normality will last.”

For students, research is unlikely to be directly affected in the short term, but Singh said funding reductions could eventually trickle down. 

Third-year psychology major William Wade, who works with Dr. Stephanie Grella’s memory and neuromodulator mechanisms lab, said navigating funding uncertainty remains a challenge for research students. 

Wade’s research — which involves studying substance abuse through long-term cocaine exposure in lab models — is funded partially by government resources like the Drug Enforcement Administration, which provides research-grade cocaine.

“A lot of our drugs come from the government, so that could potentially lead to us halting the project if funds from resources from government organizations such as the DEA would be halted,” Wade said. “Then we would kind of pass for the problems.”

Wade also said he felt concerned about potential funding shifts impacting undergraduate research opportunities. 

“My main concern is that it’s already hard enough to publish the projects that we have in the laboratory,” Wade said. “Our projects require a lot of time as well as the rights for us to run the test for the cocaine.”

While Loyola’s new R1 status signals a growing emphasis on research, Wade said he remains cautious on how the transition might impact student research opportunities. He voiced some concern on whether the research applications may become too difficult or time confusing with the new title, but also recognizes the title is beneficial for the university. 

Singh said the university is exploring alternative funding sources, including private foundations and partnerships with external organizations. Marketing and communication efforts are also being strengthened to attract sponsors and donors.

Loyola has numerous collaborations with other institutions, both nationally and internationally. While these partnerships remain strong, funding reductions could make collaboration more challenging, according to Singh.

“Our commitment to collaboration hasn’t changed,” Singh said. “But without adequate funding, it becomes harder to maximize the impact of our work.”

Woods said navigating the complexities of federal grants requires institutional support, and Loyola is committed to helping faculty secure funding.

Singh said the university plans to regularly update the News and Updates page with factual, verified information.

“Our focus is on what we know,” said Singh. “Speculation doesn’t help anyone, but we are prepared to adjust as needed.”

Singh encouraged faculty and researchers to visit the webpage for updates or reach out to the Vice Provost’s office with specific concerns.