Utah State University lays off researchers after Trump administration cuts federal grants

Utah State University has laid off seven full-time staff researchers whose grants were terminated by the federal government

It is the first public university in the state to confirm employee cuts in response to President Donald Trump’s administration canceling many awards for advancing science.

An additional roughly 80 USU students and part-time staff have also had their positions impacted by the research grant terminations. Some have been laid off, said USU spokesperson Amanda DeRito, but many have been shifted into other positions on campus. The school hasn’t specifically tracked that, but it includes both graduate and undergraduate students.

The Salt Lake Tribune received a redacted copy of the “notification of reduction in force” sent to the seven USU employees through a public records request.

The reason for the cuts, the letter states, is a lack of funding largely centered on grants previously awarded by the National Science Foundation, which is USU’s biggest federal funder, DeRito said. Other cuts have also come to the National Institutes for Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“As a result, we need to eliminate your position,” the USU email says. “… Best wishes in your future endeavors.”

The research cuts have thrown universities and colleges across the country into a whirlwind of uncertainty over the last several months. Schools and organizations have filed lawsuits pushing back — and courts have put many terminations on hold.

Some canceled grants were later reinstated and other grants have been indefinitely paused.

“We spend a lot of time in fits and starts trying to figure out what we’re doing,” said Lisa Berreau, the vice president of research at USU, during a board of trustees meeting earlier this year. “It’s chaotic.”

Berreau first mentioned at that meeting that the northern Utah school was going to have to lay off employees. Annually, the school has recently averaged about $400 million per year in research awards, and it can’t operate at full capacity without the money, she said.

She estimated that the federal cuts, so far, have amounted to about $16 million. DeRito added that already this fiscal year, which started July 1, the amount of research awards USU has collected has been down significantly compared to the year prior.

As a land grant institution, most research at USU focuses on agriculture and land. Berreau said the research terminations, though, have affected “every college on our campus.”

She worries that U.S. research cuts could prompt a “brain drain” of scientists seeking work in other countries.

“As a nation, this is one of the biggest issues,” Berreau said. “What are we going to lose for our future?”

The University of Utah — the largest research school in the state and the only one that also operates an adjoining hospital, which includes a significant health research arm — has been similarly advocating against the cuts.

But the U.’s leadership has promised there will be no layoffs and no impact to graduate student work offers or admissions. University President Taylor Randall has said he intends to keep research fully funded, but he hasn’t specified how.

“Do we have all the answers right now?” Randall said earlier this year about research. “No, we certainly don’t.”

For fiscal 2024, the U. brought in $691 million in research funds. So far, the school has had more than 70 grants canceled and expects to lose $28.4 million in federal award money, according to a recent update by U. research Vice President Erin Rothwell.

On top of the federal award terminations, Utah’s eight public colleges and universities are also facing a combined $60.5 million budget cut imposed by state lawmakers this year.