Penn says $175 million in federal funding halted by Trump administration jeopardizes lifesaving research
University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson announced on Tuesday that the school has received "stop work orders" on $175 million in federally contracted research, a move he says jeopardizes "lifesaving and life-improving research."
Jameson said in an update to the Penn community on the school's website that the university received the orders last week after they learned through news outlets that the Trump administration was going to suspend $175 million in funding over policies allowing Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, to compete in women's sports in 2022.
The $175 million in funding includes research on preventing hospital-acquired infections, drug screening against deadly viruses, quantum computing, protections against chemical warfare and student loan programs, according to Jameson.
Jameson said Penn is "actively pursuing multiple avenues to understand and address these funding terminations, freezes, and slowdowns."
"Federal funding freezes and cancellations jeopardize lifesaving and life-improving research, the loss of which will be felt by society and individuals far beyond our campus for years to come," Jameson wrote in part. "Understandably, we are hearing concerns not only from scientists affected directly, but more broadly from students and young faculty embarking on careers in research."
Jameson wrote that Penn and the federal government have a long-standing relationship, and he's hoping that the two can restore trust to continue the research moving forward.
Jameson also wrote in the update that the Office of Civil Rights told Penn in February the school was under investigation under the Title IX Education Amendments of 1972, which is the federal statue that prohibits sexual discrimination in intercollegiate athletics.
In 2022, Thomas made headlines and drew backlash when she competed for the women's swimming team at Penn. Thomas came in first in the 500-meter freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships and had other top finishes in events at the Ivy League Championships that year.
At the time, NCAA regulations allowed for trans women to compete on teams that aligned with their gender identity. President Trump undid those protections in an executive order signed in February, causing the NCAA to change its policy.
Jameson wrote that Penn was following NCAA policy while Thomas was on the women's swimming team and that Penn "has never had a transgender student-athlete policy of its own."
Mr. Trump graduated from The Wharton School at Penn in 1968, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian student newspaper.
