Virginia Tech stated in a Tuesday notice posted to its website that it would effectively ignore a recent executive order by President Donald Trump that capped the portion of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding which can be used for facilities and administrative costs to 15 percent, citing the recent pause issued by a federal judge in Massachusetts.
In a statement posted to the university’s website by Provost Cyril Clarke and Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring, Virginia Tech claimed the 15 percent cap would harm the university’s ongoing projects, and said it would continue to anticipate the Biden-era caps until a judge issues a final ruling.
“A rate of 15% is substantially lower than the previously negotiated rate, and university leadership is in the process of assessing the potential impact of this change, which would be significant, particularly if other federal agencies follow suit,” said the university officials.
They added, “As this issue works its way through the legal system and, possibly congressional consideration, and until further notice, Virginia Tech will continue to submit proposals at the previously negotiated rate.”
While Virginia Tech did not state what portion of its taxpayer-funded grants is used to pay administrative staff or cover the overhead of buildings, Medical Page Today recently reported that many grants allow between 27 and 50 percent of funding to be used for these purposes, while Nature claimed the average amount per grant hovers around 40 percent.
Amid these claims, Forbes reported that $9 billion of the $35 billion dispersed as NIH grants in 2023 went toward overhead of administration.
While Virginia Tech said it would operate under the premise that the litigation will be successful, blocking Trump’s executive order and allowing existing NIH grants to continue, university officials nonetheless warned that other funding changes could be coming under the Trump administration.
“Considering that other federal agencies may also reduce F&A costs, we encourage principal investigators (PIs) in the interim to limit expenditures funded by returned overhead until we have a better understanding of how best to manage this challenging situation,” they stated. “In regard to graduate research assistants funded on returned overhead, we encourage PIs to explore the feasibility of shifting funding of stipends to another source.”
While Trump’s efforts to modify federal grants to save taxpayer money may be temporarily stalled, his administration yesterday received a victory in the commonwealth, where the Virginia High School League on Monday confirmed it will comply with his administration’s prohibition on biological males playing on women’s sports teams.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Virginia Tech” by Virginia Tech.
Lawless leftist institutions need to be held accountable fiscally and legally.