This message to all faculty and staff has been approved by Florida State University Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson.
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past few months, FSU leadership has worked to keep you informed of federal and state updates that relate to your work. It is important for you to have accurate information about the evolving landscape and how it may impact your efforts, and please be assured, we are sharing information as it is available.
As of May 9, we have received 51 federal grant and/or contract cancellations that had remaining funding commitments of over $102 million. These cancellations have come from many federal agencies including but not limited to the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, USAID, the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education.
We are doing all we can to help colleges and departments mitigate the financial impacts including standing up a new Contingency Funding program and through the use of approved Advance Accounts and Bridge Program as appropriate. Unfortunately, as I have noted before, it is impossible for us to completely fill the gaps.
We have also been working with investigators and have submitted several appeals of termination decisions. We are meeting with every group impacted by a termination to determine the best path forward together.
I have also been working with a national group in a joint effort to develop a new indirect costs funding model as a member of the Subject Matter Experts (SME) Team. This work is important as the federal government restructures the way research support costs are charged. As of today, all federal proposals should be submitted with our standard negotiated rates. If this situation changes, we will let you know.
I also want to remind you that if you have not received stop work or termination instructions from your sponsor or our office, please continue with all funded research activities and proposal submissions without interruption. Please spend federal funds as scheduled in your award – no cost extensions should not be assumed at this time. In fact, ALL NIH no cost extensions now require agency approval.
Please also ensure that all new proposals, technical reports, and updates align fully with current federal priorities. Our office can help review your submissions as requested.
If you have questions regarding the status of your award or receive any new information or correspondence from your federal sponsor, please reach out to Kerry Peluso, Associate Vice President for Research Administration and Finance (kpeluso@fsu.edu), before reaching out to your sponsor.
We understand there is a lot of uncertainty and change and that you may have additional questions and concerns. We are here to support you, and we are available as needed. Please feel free to reach out directly to me or any member of our team.
Thank you for your continued support of FSU, our critical research and creative enterprise, and each other.
Kind regards,
Stacey S. Patterson, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research