Andrew Read leads conversation on executive actions and their impact on research

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Despite uncertainty surrounding executive actions, Penn State remains one of the world’s biggest research universities and continues working to address the critical challenges facing the United States and humanity, Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read said during a conversation with the Penn State community on May 28. 

Read and Amanda Wintersteen, associate vice president for federal relations, spoke with an audience of nearly 1,000 individuals joining in-person and online about the impact recent federal actions have had on University research operations and what Penn State is doing to address those challenges. They acknowledged the difficulties and uncertainties facing the research community, such as fewer calls for proposals from funding agencies.  

Read gave a brief overview of grant terminations, award slowdowns, proposed federal agency budget reductions and 15% caps on facilities and administration (F&A) rates at federal agencies, reporting that Penn State would see an annual loss of $90 million in research infrastructure support if the proposed F&A rate caps were implemented at all federal agencies that currently administer grants to the University. He described the current situation as serious but with room for optimism, likening it not to going over a cliff but watching a tide ebb. University leaders across the country don’t know how far out the tide will go, he said, but Penn State has worked hard to achieve a balanced budget and is taking a data-driven approach in response to federal changes.

He encouraged attendees to respond strategically and effectively. 

“I would urge all the staff and faculty to double down on the great work you’re doing — the teaching, the mentoring of students, the impactful research, serving our communities in this moment of disruption,” Read said. “We stand firmly behind academic freedom, excellence and public impact.” 

The Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the American Council on Education are working on an alternative proposal that they hope will be acceptable to the current administration, he said, noting that Penn State leadership is in regular contact with these organizations and with peer institutions to find ways to mitigate the impact of executive actions on research. 

“I do not like where we are now, or where we might be headed, or how bad things might get, but we have a lot of good things to work with,” Read added. “The university-federal partnership has generated so much prosperity, health, security. I have to believe we will return again a key element of what made America great. The country needs universities like Penn State to excel in research and discovery.” 

“Industry can’t do basic research as cheaply as we can,” he continued. “Their F&A rates are the equivalent of two to three times the size of ours. And innovation comes from us. It’s the professors who take risks. They don’t need to satisfy quarterly shareholder demands. All of our efforts in translation are about de-risking the science and technology that we’ve developed so that industry can then pick them up. We also provide industry with a trained workforce.” 

Read noted how Penn State helps students pursue the American dream by providing an environment for them to seek out and fulfill lifelong dreams and to change their economic situation. 

“We change lives at scale,” he said, noting the thousands of first-generation students Penn State graduates per year. 

Wintersteen informed the community that she and her colleagues are in close contact with the Pennsylvania congressional delegation, as well as with key authorizing and appropriations committees. She described productive conversations around issues facing university research like grant terminations. 

“Members of Congress and their staff really want to understand what the impact is,” she said. “When I say impact, I’m thinking not just the dollars or number of faculty, postdocs and graduate students that are impacted — that’s important — but why they should care. What are the outcomes of the research that you’re working on? What could have been if not terminated? Some of those examples are industry implementation of innovation, health impacts on individuals experiencing disease, national and economic security implications.” 

She added that while members of Congress may critique the current state of higher education, they care deeply for their home state institutions, like Penn State.

Read and Wintersteen also shared concrete actions Penn State is taking in response to federal actions affecting research, including appealing grant terminations, submitting a formal declaration in response to the proposed U.S. National Science Foundation funding cuts, engaging with Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, and launching a “Research or Regress” campaign aimed at telling stories of how Penn State research is positively impacting communities across the state and the nation. 

Faculty and staff looking to support the University’s efforts can: 

• Continue to apply for federal grant funding; write to the RFP. 

• Participate in the “Research or Regress” campaign by sharing their research impact stories.

• As always, maintain strict compliance with federal regulations.

• Report unusual grant-related communications or challenges to their associate deans for research and the Office of Sponsored Programs and consult with them before replying.

• Stay informed about ongoing developments.

“This isn’t the end of the conversation, not least because we don’t really know where we’re going yet, and there’s a lot of fluidity here,” Read said. “We are all in this together. It is very serious, but I remain optimistic at least about the medium- to long-term future, because what we do is really important, and America needs it.”