By james art 
The University of Wisconsin – Madison has freezes the rental of positions paid by federal funds. The management also told staff to limit purchases and travel using these dollars for the moment.
“It is important not to create new obligations on existing federal awards,” the Prophet Charles Izbel and the Deputy Finance and Administration Rob Cramer wrote in a message to the deans, the directors of UW-Madison on January 29th.
This move is in response to the uncertain fate of some grants for federal assistance and research after the latest actions of the Trump administration, including a quickly canceled note ordering a pause on federal subsidies and assistance.
The pause was to review whether such funds correspond to the parade of Trump’s executive orders, “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign assistance, non -governmental organizations, DEI, awakened gender ideology and the green new deal.”
Uncertainly how the administration, business leaders and Wisconsin researchers will continue to speculate on what can happen if federal research dollars are eventually delayed or reduced.
In 2023, the UW -Madison fiscal year ranked 6th among national universities in research costs with about $ 1.7 billion in costs. About half of this money came from the federal government.
“So the economic effect can be huge that so many revenue potentially disappears,” says Tim Honaker, president of the Non-Profit University Network Network in the Midwest, which helps universities like UW-Madison commercialize their research. “I don’t think this will happen. But the fact is that the federal government is such a huge client … that it really causes a dilemma for the people who manage the enterprise. “
Honaker said universities have a great influence on local economies.
“If there is less research, there are less opportunities to train the next generation of scientists,” Honaker said. “And [that] It can lead to a gap in talent. “
Attorney Mark Erman helps universities to rotate their companies research. He said state funds are important for the development of new technologies and therapies.
“I will worry that this will slow down or stop if you do not have this state support,” Erman said.
He said federal research dollars have a multiplicating effect. They can lead to start -ups and ultimately help the local economy.
“Federal research has been going on for decades and I think it would be difficult to see how it can just disappear completely,” Erman said. “I will be surprised if it comes to it.”
In its message, the UW-Madison management said it would continue to update the staff, as “previous predictable federal programs will experience new degrees of insecurity and change.”
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