UC and CSU leaders urge state support as federal investigations and grant cuts hit research and student aid

University of California President James B. Milliken and California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia told the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education that federal investigations and the loss of federal grants have materially strained both systems and urged state action to limit damage to students and research programs.

Milliken, introduced by the committee, said federal actions have cut deeply into UC research activity: “we have been subject to numerous federal investigations and enforcement actions,” and he noted that the federal government recently suspended nearly $600,000,000 in research funding to UCLA. He told the panel that roughly 1,600 grants have been affected by federal withdrawals, with about $830,000,000 temporarily reinstated but “about 400 grants that are either suspended or terminated, about $170,000,000 in research activity” still under threat.

Chancellor Garcia described CSU's efforts to strengthen civil-rights services and to respond to federal demands while highlighting the system's fiscal pressures. She told senators the CSU has implemented “all but 1 of the state auditor's recommendations from the 2023 audit” and is building centralized investigator positions and prevention programs to improve Title IX and civil-rights case handling. At the same time, she said, the system faces a large deferred-maintenance backlog and rising personnel and benefit costs that make current funding levels precarious.

Both leaders signaled support for state-level measures. Milliken said he is “hopeful that we can build on the progress, from the governor's budget proposal and receive full compact funding” and welcomed discussion of a research bond to help offset federal shortfalls. Garcia asked lawmakers to consider the governor's budget, which she called “the right investment at the right time,” to address deferred maintenance, compensation, and student services.

Committee members pressed both leaders on the impact of federal policy on student aid programs, including the elimination of the Grad PLUS program. Milliken called Grad PLUS support for graduate students “enormously important” and said the numbers lost from federal changes were “too great for us to simply do that on our own,” urging state partnership. Garcia said CSU is pursuing donors, state partnerships, and programmatic supports to make up losses where possible.

Why it matters: UC and CSU together educate hundreds of thousands of Californians, provide major workforce pipelines, and perform research with economic and health impacts across the state. Subcommittee members asked for follow-up materials and pledged to consider the funding requests as part of the budget process.

Next steps: The subcommittee requested additional presentations on campus turnaround plans and asked UC and CSU to return with more detailed fiscal and operational plans as the Legislature considers the governor's budget.