UConn leaders warn of research-dollar threat, ARPA cliff and call for stable funding to sustain enrollment gains

University of Connecticut officials told the Appropriations Committee on March 5 that they have increased incoming enrollment, raised fundraising and achieved record research expenditures but that a potential federal policy change and the loss of one-time state funding create near-term budget risk.

President Bridal Merrick said the university accepted about 1,300 more students this year and that roughly 73 percent of the incoming students identify as Connecticut residents. Merrick also highlighted recent fundraising gains (average annual fundraising recently near $130 million, up from about $80 million in the prior comparable period) and a growing endowment; the university reported an endowment above $600 million and said a public campaign would seek to raise the endowment toward $1.5 billion.

On federal research policy, university officials warned of a proposed change that would limit indirect cost (IDC) recovery on…