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UMass and system leaders press for more grant aid, capital funds and a backstop for federal research cuts
Summary
University and system advocates described steps to expand affordability and campus capital, and warned that proposed NIH and other federal cuts could disrupt research funding, scholarships and faculty positions unless state funds or contingency plans provide partial replacement.
Lede: University and higher‑education officials told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that the governor’s FY26 budget maintains recent affordability gains but urged extra state funding to shore up grants, capital renewal and to prepare for possible federal research cuts.
Nut graf: UMass President Marty Meehan, the Department of Higher Education and representatives for the state university and community‑college systems described programs (MassGrantPlus/MassGramaPlus, free community college, the BRIDE/BRIGHT infrastructure proposal) that expand access and called for targeted state funding in case federal research…
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