NIU officials warn federal research funding cuts and F&A caps could erase millions and affect graduate students

Northern Illinois University research leaders told trustees on the Research and Innovation Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee that recent federal actions to pause or cap university overhead have already cost the university awarded grants and placed graduate students at risk.

Richard Makarski, NIU's vice president for research and innovation partnerships, said federal agencies have taken steps that created immediate uncertainty for university research. “The national funding average rate last year was 9.1%,” Makarski said, describing how competitive grant funding is and how lengthy applications and reviews can be. He added, “Our research rate on campus is 52.5% F&A.”

The nut graf: Trustees heard that agency-level moves — including a temporary pause announced by the Office of Management and Budget and recent agency decisions to cap facilities and administration costs at several research funders — have led to canceled awards and required the university to find emergency resources and new funding paths.

Makarski told trustees that NIU has “lost a number of grants totaling $7,350,000 in awards,” and that about $2,600,000 of that sum remained unspent on those grants when the cancellations occurred. He said 29 students, “mostly graduate students,” have been affected. Makarski described the university’s F&A process and why F&A matters: it covers lab safety, compliance, contracting, facilities and the staff who invoice sponsors and administer awards.

Trustees asked how long the university could sustain programs hit by cancellations and what contingency plans were in place. Makarski said NIU is pursuing a multipronged strategy: standing up an office of research development to work one-on-one with faculty on proposals, the Husky Frontiers effort to pursue industry and foundation support, and coordination with national higher-education organizations and the university foundation to identify bridge funding. “We are doing everything we can to pivot and find other funding sources,” he said.

Committee members pressed for detail on the causes of cancellations. Makarski said cancellations to date have often cited priorities tied to diversity, equity and inclusion or agency reprioritization; he noted several agency actions are currently under injunction. Julia Roe, NIU’s federal relations lead, told the committee that the White House President’s budget request (PBR) proposed large cuts to discretionary programs and that the PBR “includes a 15% cut to the Department of Education” and steep reductions to some research programs, including a cited “55% cut to NSF.” Roe said those are White House proposals and that congressional appropriations work had not been completed.

Trustees and university leaders discussed the practical effects of a hypothetical F&A reduction. Makarski said a cut to a 15% F&A rate would be “untenable” and estimated that a full cut to 15% would cost the university “over 2 and a half million dollars annually.” He said NIU's federal portfolio represents roughly half of the university’s external funding, and that while foundation and state funders are sometimes less restrictive, the federal government is the largest single research funder.

The university has communicated with federal and state partners and has been providing individualized support to affected faculty and students: Makarski said the campus has held more than 50 meetings with faculty who have at-risk grants, maintains a behind-the-firewall FAQ and convened a senior leadership team to coordinate bridge funding and response. He also said NIH and other agencies had paused or sought to change F&A policies — actions some universities have challenged in court — and that NIU provided data to national organizations seeking temporary restraining orders.

Ending: Trustees directed continued monitoring and asked the administration to provide updates on student impacts and on specific bridge-funding steps. Makarski and federal-relations staff said they would continue to work through national coalitions, the university foundation and state and federal representatives to mitigate impacts and pursue alternative funders.