The University of Maryland announced on Thursday two initiatives totaling $8.75 million to support researchers and academics amid federal funding uncertainty.
University administrators first announced in a campuswide letter on Wednesday that $3.75 million over three years will be allocated to doctoral students, postdoctoral students and junior faculty affected by recent cuts to research funding at this university. That initiative is part of a new $7.5 million investment fund split with the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
The university anticipates the first round of funding to be announced in January 2026. The $7.5 million commitment was made by the university’s existing research partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
The university will also direct $5 million into its Preserve, Pivot and Grow Program. The program’s first track is slated to provide four to five funding awards for institutes, centers, labs and initiatives at this university next year. The second track will aim to provide 25 awards to principal investigators and lab groups.
“Over the course of the year, we have all felt the impact of a rapidly evolving federal funding environment,” university administrators wrote in a campuswide email on Thursday. “The changes have caused uncertainty and, in some cases, significant shifts for our researchers.”
The federal government has cancelled at least $30 million worth of grants at the university, The Diamondback reported in September. Many of those cancellations include research grants from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
“We continue to be inspired by the perseverance of our community and are reassured by the continued strength of our research enterprise,” the administrators wrote.
