The University of Wyoming has to prepare for "the worst case scenario" when it comes to the Trump administration's steep cuts to research funding, according to university leaders who presented to the UW Board of Trustees this week.
One potentially radical change is the administration's desire to cap "indirect costs" on research grants to 15%.
UW's research chief Parag Chitnis said those indirect costs pay for the equipment and personnel that support research and make it possible, and the reductions would result in a "substantial decrease in our funding."
“If all federal agencies put 15% as a cap for indirect costs, we'll lose more than $8.5 million," he said. "All of that will be lost if that goes to 15% and we are looking at different ways to adjust to that new normal."
The new indirect costs policy is actually several policies, implemented across various funding agencies. Most are being challenged in court and some have been halted by judges.
Chitnis added UW research could also take a hit from the huge budget cuts Trump has proposed for federal funders like the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Trump is asking Congress for a 55% cut to the NSF, a nearly 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a 35% cut to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
All three agencies fund research or outreach programs at UW. That means cuts could be imminent even for 4-H programs and the Wyoming Conservation Corps, both of which have connections to federal funding that pass through UW.
"NIFA supports agricultural extension experiment stations across the state," Chitnis said. "So it's not just going to impact Laramie, but it will impact the rest of what we do in the state, and how we serve the state."
During the same meeting, university President Ed Seidel said UW will double down on corporate partnerships to fund research in light of all the potential changes coming from Washington, D.C.
"This is going to be a massive shift in how the university does its work, and we are on it, and we're working every day," Seidel said. "It's clear that federal support for research is going to be more complex and probably less in the future. So we have to think about other ways to bring in revenue and other sources of support."
Congress will ultimately decide the fate of Trump’s proposed cuts to NSF, NIH and NIFA.
According to meeting testimony, UW received about $110 million from the federal government last year.
Trump's tariffs could also severely impact UW research, Chitnis said, because some specialized equipment is bought from overseas.
"We really order millions of dollars worth of equipment, computers, computer systems — for example, for research computing," he said. "Depending on which country it is coming from, and when it arrives, it may get impacted by tariffs."
But Chitnis added it's "not a lost cause." He said even as federal priorities undergo a major upheaval, UW could find itself aligned with those priorities even in its research, especially given UW's focus on "traditional fuels," critical minerals, nuclear energy and high-performance computing.
"The priorities for NSF are like AI, quantum sciences, biotechnology," Chitnis said. "Priorities for NIFA are more competitive types of programs, including tribal colleges, [Historically Black Colleges and Universities], and we have some strong relationships with those around the country."
UW could find itself well positioned in the stiff competition for dwindling federal research dollars, he said.
"We still have to prepare for the worst case scenario," Chitnis said. "But we also need to be resilient and really get ready to deal with whatever the new normal lies ahead of us."
