Loyola’s Federal Funding Potentially At Risk

Universities across the country are facing federal inquiries which could result in funding losses if they don’t comply with the Trump administration’s directives, The Associated Press reported. Loyola hasn’t had its federal funding threatened, but there’s still uncertainty among university leadership regarding the demands of the federal government and their potential impacts on the university.

At a March 25 finance town hall, Loyola Chief Financial Officer Wayne Magdziarz said the university is watching their grants closely because the federal directives’ impacts could be significant.

“If a grant goes away and is terminated by the feds — I’d be lying to you this morning if I told you the university is gonna step in and fund it,” Magdziarz said.

Federal funding is extremely important to Loyola, according to university spokesperson Christian Anderson, as 75% of research at Loyola is federally funded.

“We are taking prudent steps and precautionary measures to ensure that Loyola is ready to respond effectively as directives are clarified over time,” Anderson wrote in an email to The Phoenix.

The demands of the federal government are changing constantly, leaving Loyola unsure of what will be cut, according to Magdziarz.

Among the schools whose federal funding has already come under threat by the federal government are Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania. $400 million worth of federal funding was withheld from Columbia before it adopted the demands outlined in the Trump administration’s March 13 letter.

Magdziarz began his financial town hall March 27 with a discussion about the rapidly changing policies of the federal government, which could affect the university’s funding. 

“Any grant or contract that is out there that we hold that specifically articulates DEI initiatives as part of that research is potentially at risk or vulnerable to be terminated,” Magdziarz said.

Loyola hasn’t lost any grants or contracts, but Magdziarz said Loyola received a letter March 27 which directed the university to change a component of a grant related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or lose the grant. Magdziarz said Loyola is currently working to maintain that funding by reviewing their policies to comply with the law.

Magdziarz said he was troubled by the federal budget passed March 15 because of its changes to Title IV funding, which is overseen by The Department of Education. Title IV involves programs like Pell Grants — which help low-income students afford college, work study and other financial aid. The March 15 budget didn’t change the amount of funding allocated to Title IV but provided no details as to how that money was to be spent, according to Magdziarz.

“There could be an opportunity for Washington to take a look at those numbers,” Magdziarz said. “And if they didn’t support or like what FSEOG or what Pell was doing, to begin to starve those programs and move those dollars to other places in the Title IV landscape.”

Columbia agreed to overhaul their policies to appease federal demands and continue to receive funding, according to The New York Times. These demands included banning masks on campus, disciplining student organizers involved in protests, increasing law enforcement and removing the autonomy of the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies Department and placing it under academic receivership. 

The federal government also demanded Columbia adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-semitism, stating that comparing Israeli policy to Nazi policy and calling Israel “a racist endeavor” is anti-semitic, among other points.

Columbia’s agreement to these demands has led to protests on campus, according to the Columbia Spectator. Other universities are wary of the government making demands at other schools, given Columbia did not mount any legal challenges against the government, the AP reported.

The Trump administration froze $175 million of federal funding to Penn because of their policy regarding transgender athletes, according to NPR. Johns Hopkins cut 2,200 workers in Baltimore and abroad March 13 due to federal cuts in research funding, according to The Associated Press.

Magdziarz said the federal government is constantly changing which grants they’re targeting. At first, directives or changes targeted diversity, equity and inclusion grants, then expanded to those which contained language about sustainability, COVID-19 and public health.

Magdziarz said many of the values labeled as DEI by the federal government are deeply embedded in Loyola’s values as a Jesuit Catholic institution — an institution committed to embracing diversity, though adjustments may be necessary.

“We may have to change the way we do some of these things in order to comply with the law,” Magdziarz said. 

Loyola holds about 400 federal grants and contracts, approximately 200 of which are for the Strich School of Medicine, according to Magdziarz, who said he doesn’t think grants related to the medical school will be cut.