’Serious impacts’: UNLV, UNR lose $40 million in federal funding

Two top-tier research universities in Nevada have lost a combined nearly $40 million in federal funding.

UNLV lost $16.3 million in federal research funding, according to an email from David Hatchett, the university’s vice president of research. The University of Nevada, Reno lost $23.1 million, according to a UNR spokesperson.

Three of the UNLV grants were canceled before they began, and 22 were halted during implementation, Hatchett wrote.

At UNR, 18 sponsored projects across several agencies were terminated. Four grants from the National Science Foundation ended as they were approaching their end dates, the university said. UNR currently manages 808 active federal awards totaling $521 million, with a remaining balance of $174 million.

The cuts were made across several agencies via President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging executive orders aimed at reducing “wasteful spending.”

“The University of Nevada, Reno recognizes the significant disruptions that Executive Orders (EOs) and federal agency actions continue to create for federally sponsored research — and, more importantly, for the lives of our faculty, staff, and students. The University takes these impacts seriously,” a UNR spokesperson said.

Effects of cuts

Nevada System of Higher Education institutions are “very dependent” on grants, according to Interim Chancellor Patty Charlton.

The institutions receive $900 million in federal grants, and last year, $386 million in Pell Grants, which are federal financial aid awards, Charlton said at the Board of Regents meeting in March.

Regent Patrick Boylan said Thursday that he thought the federal government was right to reduce university funding, and universities should rely less on that money.

“They’ll survive,” Boylan said of the universities. “They just need to go over their own budget properly. I think half of that money will be saved if they got rid of half of the administrators in NSHE.”

UNLV’s cuts included several public health-related grants, including those for Alzheimer’s research, COVID-19 response projects and Clostridioides difficile infections (bacteria that causes an infection of the colon), Hatchett said.

A spokesperson from the NIH said grants were canceled in accordance with the presidential memo “Radical Transparency About Wasteful Spending.”

A grant to support the Nevada Afterschool Network also was terminated, Hatchett said. Its termination means reduced access to enrichment and care for K-12 children, especially in underserved areas, he said.

It also put an end to a project monitoring substance use through noninvasive wastewater analysis in high schools and Nevada System of Higher Education institutions.

“This decision hinders Nevada’s ability to detect and respond to youth substance use trends in real time, an urgent public health concern,” Hatchett said.

Cuts to two grants have jeopardized mental health services in rural Nevada, according to Hatchett.

“These regions already face critical shortages of mental health professionals, and these reductions intensify existing disparities in access to care,” Hatchett wrote.

There also have been losses to educational access and equity, Hatchett said.

That includes the end of scholarships and outreach initiatives aimed at Native American students as well as programs supporting first-generation and low-income students.

Continuing to encourage research

Both UNLV and UNR encouraged faculty to continue to submit research proposals.

“In the face of these federal funding challenges, we want to express our deep appreciation for our faculty’s resilience, creativity, and dedication. Your scholarship, grant development, and student mentorship remain central to UNLV’s mission and the communities we serve,” Hatchell wrote.

UNR said it has implemented a proactive, strategic response to mitigate risks, safeguard research funding and protect faculty and student salaries supported by federal and other self-supporting funds.

“While the EOs have had an undeniable impact on some research activities, the University remains steadfast in supporting its faculty researchers’ work and maintaining the integrity of its sponsored programs,” the spokesperson said.

Contact Katie Futterman at [email protected]. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.