Dear Campus Community,
It’s hard to believe there is less than a month remaining in the semester. We’re looking forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our graduates and our entire community for finishing out the semester strong. At the same time, we also acknowledge that many of you are feeling uncertainty and have questions about how the university is responding to changes in the federal landscape. We hear and understand these concerns.
We assure you that we are monitoring and, where appropriate, taking action on changes that may impact our campus, even when our actions go unseen. Our federal relations website serves as a central hub for updates and resources, and we urge you to check it often for relevant updates. We also encourage you to share verified updates with your peers and colleagues to stay informed of current events and developments.
Taking action
We have convened groups from across campus to strategize how we can mitigate potential disruptions to our operations and community, and we are not facing these changes alone. We are working in partnership with our local and federal government representatives, the office of the Maryland Attorney General, our Big Ten peers, higher education associations, legal experts and other key partners.
Just this week, our university signed onto a letter with more than 400 presidents, chancellors and officials through the American Association of Colleges and Universities calling for constructive engagement with the federal administration.
We’re also collaborating closely with the University System of Maryland (USM) and the state. USM recently signed an amicus brief to support a lawsuit over the revocation of student visas, and the Maryland Attorney General's Office is leading and joining multiple lawsuits on topics such as federal layoffs, education, research funding, citizenship and more.
Supporting our international community
To our international students, faculty and staff: you are a valuable part of our community. We understand the stress you may be feeling, and we are here for you.
We are disheartened that international individuals at institutions nationwide, including our own at UMD, have experienced the unexpected termination of their lawful status in the U.S. The number of impacted individuals continues to fluctuate, with five people part of our community currently working through issues related to recently revoked visas. To protect their privacy, we will not be sharing additional information, but know that we have been in touch with these individuals and are providing tailored support specific to their cases.
The International Student Scholar Services Office (ISSS) consistently monitors the impact of the shifting federal landscape on our international community and communicates directly and privately with affected individuals. The Office of International Affairs is hosting weekly drop-in office hours and offering meetings to consider individual questions and needs. ISSS is always available to our international community. Please do not hesitate to contact them if you need support, and visit their website for updates.
UMD was one of six universities to receive a request from a U.S. House of Representatives select committee for information related to the research and funding of Chinese members of our community, and connections to China. It is our understanding that this request for information is not seeking personally identifiable information. We therefore intend to respond accordingly, and otherwise consistent with federal and state privacy laws, by the deadline this week.
While we understand the unease about potential visits from federal law enforcement officials to our campus, please know that we are not aware of any planned visits. However, we remind you of the guidance we previously shared for managing government enforcement agent requests. The university will also follow guidance from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General on responding to immigration enforcement requests.
Protecting our research enterprise
Our research has tangible, critical impacts on communities across our state, nation and world. Like every major public research university across the country, we have seen impacts to our research enterprise from the changes in federal research funding. We empathize with our researchers whose work is affected and stand by you.
With over 50 grants impacted and the number fluctuating each day, this represents tens of millions of dollars to our research enterprise. We are working with these agencies and our researchers to understand why they were canceled or paused. Explanations range from changes in agency priorities to reductions in budgets and staff. We are assessing what options are available for appealing grant terminations and keeping a keen eye on how these financial losses may impact our staff, faculty and graduate students. We are also communicating the impact of these funding rescissions to our members of Congress.
We know members of our research community are also concerned about the changes to indirect cost rates related to federal grants. We share that concern and are working closely with other USM schools, as well as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Association of American Universities , to communicate about the profound negative impact cutting these rates will have on universities and to oppose the measure from moving forward. This measure is currently being litigated in the courts. In addition, we are participating in a national effort with organizations representing America's academic, medical and independent research institutions to develop a new indirect cost funding model.
We are also monitoring changes to funding priorities and procedures for grant proposals issued by the federal government and are working to communicate about these developments with researchers who are impacted as quickly as we can. Researchers are strongly encouraged to continue applying for grants from federal agencies as well as other funding sources. Please continue to monitor the Division of Research's Federal Updates webpage, which is updated regularly with new information.
Support and community
We recognize the uncertainty that many in our community are experiencing as we navigate changes affecting higher education. As always, we remind our community to prioritize your mental health and well-being. Particularly at this time of year, it's important for us to support our fellow Terps. We know that changes in the federal workforce may also be affecting your friends and family, and encourage you to share our Pathways Forward Resource Hub for anyone looking for career transition resources.
While this email aggregates many recent updates in one place, we have and will continue to share updates on our website and to directly affected individuals.
We will continue to work with our state and federal representatives, peers and legal experts to support our community and uphold our mission and values, and are deeply grateful to all of our Terps for remaining steadfast in support of our research, scholarship and service.
Sincerely,
Darryll J. Pines
President, University of Maryland
He/Him/His
Jennifer King Rice
Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers