Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Confusion, uncertainty surrounds university researchers who rely on federal funds

NAU
Northern Arizona University

The Trump Administration rescinded Tuesday’s order to freeze federal funding after a tumultuous response and legal challenges. University researchers in Flagstaff who rely on federal funds say the situation sparked widespread confusion and worry.

Northern Arizona University received more than $64 million in federal funds last year to support projects ranging from infectious disease research to education initiatives to wildfire prevention.

David Trilling of the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences says the last few days have felt like “emotional whiplash.”

"We’re trying to stick with business as usual and continue doing our good work, but it’s hard to do that. There’s this distraction that may have a significant impact on our ability to do that work, short term and long term."

Members of other departments echoed that sense of uncertainty.

The now-rescinded funding freeze was intended to identify and potentially cancel programs that conflict with the Trump Administration’s priorities.

On Tuesday Northern Arizona University spokesperson Heidi Toth told KNAU the university is “monitoring the evolving situation.” Toth added that the U.S. Department of Education clarified that the federal freeze was not meant to affect student loans or Pell Grants.

NAU’s Office of Sponsored Projects advises researchers with federally funded projects to continue “business as usual.”

Melissa joined KNAU's team in 2015 to report on science, health, and the environment. Her work has appeared nationally on NPR and been featured on Science Friday. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she fell in love with the ecology and geology of the Sonoran desert.