Update Regarding University Research
Dear Columbia faculty, principal investigators, and research scientists,
As most of you know, on Monday the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to “temporarily pause” federal financial funding that may be implicated by the President’s executive orders. That action was then stayed in federal court on Tuesday evening and rescinded on Wednesday by the Administration. The Office of Research at Columbia has maintained a website of relevant federal communications, and will continue to keep you updated as developments continue.
Underlying the federal effort to pause funding is a review by agencies of their portfolios to ensure consistency with recent executive orders. We understand that this process raises questions and creates uncertainty for our robust research community, which sits at the core of our University’s mission. We will do all we can to address your questions with as much guidance as we can provide. For now, we recommend that you remain focused on the important work you are doing, including meeting any upcoming submission deadlines.
Some agencies have begun to issue stop-work orders in response to the executive orders. In some cases, these broadly refer to prohibited activity, and in other cases they may be specific to an award. If you are contacted by any agency directly, please inform your SPA Project Officer. We will work directly with any PI and their school and department on any stop-work orders or directives that are received, and on specific next steps to ensure compliance related to federal guidance.
Your deans are working diligently to maintain each school’s financial flexibility as events unfold and to ensure that, for all research, they have a centralized process for approval of new hiring and close coordination with SPA on any new subcontracts. With respect to University activities outside of our research portfolio, we will continue to work with schools regarding guidance on managing our resources with fiscal prudence, to ensure that we preserve financial flexibility during this time.
Thank you for your support of our shared academic mission and community.
Sincerely,
Angela V. Olinto, Provost
Anne Sullivan, Executive Vice President for Finance
Jeannette Wing, Executive Vice President for Research