In recent weeks, students and faculty at Colorado State University have been hit by a flurry of federal actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration, many of which have raised concerns over the allocation of federal financial assistance, including programs, grants and loans.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget Jan. 27 temporarily froze federal funding to align with the new administration’s efforts to downsize federal agencies. However, the freeze was rescinded after U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the order.
On Jan. 20, President Trump also signed an executive order titled, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.” The order called for the termination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as the elimination of environmental justice offices and positions.
While this is a rapidly evolving situation with significant uncertainty, students and faculty have begun to voice their concerns surrounding the potential implications of these actions on federal grants given to CSU for research and advancement efforts.
“There’s so much high anxiety in our classrooms right now, and our teachers don’t know how to navigate that because it’s political. It’s not political for us. It’s our life; it’s our livelihood; it’s what we’ve just dedicated $100,000 and four years to.” -Giovanna Paterno, student
CSU is recognized as a Carnegie R1 institution, reflecting its high level of research activity in critical fields like cancer research, animal science, climate change, forest and wildlife management, engineering and more. Furthermore, CSU is recognized globally as one of the most sustainable universities, underscoring its commitment to providing a top-tier education for students focused on sustainability.
Giovanna Paterno, a CSU senior studying natural resources management and conservation biology, expressed her increasing concerns about the future of research at CSU and her career prospects in sustainability given the potential impact of federal actions on sustainability efforts.
“There’s so much high anxiety in our classrooms right now, and our teachers don’t know how to navigate that because it’s political,” Paterno said. “It’s not political for us. It’s our life; it’s our livelihood; it’s what we’ve just dedicated $100,000 and four years to.”
Paterno also described how her capstone class and research for her major have been impeded by website blockages, particularly those restricting access to environmental and agricultural information, such as resources from the United States Forest Service.
“My group is focusing on silver trident, which is by Winter Park in Colorado,” Paterno said. “We have a bunch of different goals, some of them being wildlife management of specific habitats there, as well as trying to prevent a huge fire from coming through again like we’ve seen. We’ve just been struggling to get access to data that we need. You look up really anything in USFS that would be beneficial to our project, and it’s blocked. It’s super frustrating.”
In response to students like Paterno, along with faculty at CSU who have been growing increasingly concerned over the impact of federal actions, the university administration has addressed the wider CSU community.
On Feb. 3, Cassandra Moseley, the vice president for research at CSU, emailed colleagues with updated guidance on federally funded grants, agreements and contracts. The message specifically informed faculty that all research activities were to resume.
“Work on federally funded awards may resume if activities had been stopped due to the executive orders and related stop-work orders,” Mosely said. “For the time being, this includes work involving DEIA — diversity, equity, inclusion and access — activities.”
Additionally, CSU President Amy Parsons also sent an email Feb. 8 to address concerns voiced by students and faculty surrounding research and the over $436 million in federal funding that CSU receives each year for research and student programs.
“At CSU, our goal is to support impacted members of our Ram community and to ensure the integrity of our research and academic enterprises while maintaining compliance with the law, which in some cases means awaiting judicial review of legal challenges,” the email reads.
The email also included the announcement of a new website containing information and updates on federal actions and the potential impacts on the university community. This website will be updated regularly to reflect changes in federal policy and guidance.
Associate Professor Matthew Hitt, who teaches American government and politics at CSU, explained how the current uncertainty surrounding federal funding is closely tied to the ongoing debate about the limits of executive orders within the president’s constitutional authority.
“It is very clear from the written text of the Constitution that the legislative branch, Congress, is in power to tax and spend,” Hitt said. “There’s always been this sort of tension over how much latitude does the president get in their executive orders and at what point do they start encroaching on the constitutionally defined powers of Congress.”
Reach Claire VanDeventer at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
