When the federal government shut down on Oct. 1, it posed a threat to all publicly funded departments and agencies, including the operations of CUNY’s research efforts.
On the same day of the government shutdown, CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez wrote a letter addressing the CUNY community that the university has been bracing for the impact of a government shutdown for the past few weeks.
While the chancellor affirmed that ongoing FAFSA applications and financial aid disbursements would not be interrupted, he warned that CUNY-wide research efforts and jobs could face cuts, a troubling sign of how damaging this government shutdown may be to the public college system.
“Sustained periods of uncertainty are unsettling, but I want you to know that we are communicating with federal officials and closely monitoring any potential impacts of a sustained shutdown on the operation of our University and on members of our community whose employment, or that of a furloughed relative, may be impacted,” Rodríguez wrote in the letter.
For CUNY, this shutdown, now in its fourth week, means that many researchers risk going unpaid and may be forced to cease their projects altogether. The Research Foundation of CUNY, which helps researchers manage grants, has issued guidance based on lessons from the 35-day shutdown in 2018, urging colleges to freeze hiring and secure payroll guarantees for researchers.
CUNY receives about $47.2 million in federal funding each year for its projects, with $12.7 million in grants provided by the National Institute of Health, CUNY Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Alicia Alvero said in a March City Council meeting.
At the time, CUNY-led research projects received 24 stop-work orders as a part of the Trump administration’s new policies related to research and budget cuts to the federal health budget, leaving $21.7 million in grants at risk.
These stop-work orders have already disrupted CUNY-led research, and a prolonged shutdown could deepen those setbacks.
With many jobs and projects under threat, it is imperative that colleges under the CUNY system take the necessary measures to ensure at-risk initiatives and departments remain unaffected. CUNY’s research has long played an essential role in addressing complex and often overlooked issues, and it’s crucial that these efforts continue.
