URGENT: send written or sign up for verbal comment at the Regents Meeting this coming week! Instructions for how to do so and some sample comments and talking points are linked here.

Contact the UC administration and your elected officials to show support for saving the UC! Contacting elected officials to urge them to take steps to save the UC is the most important immediate action we can take. Ask that the UC not sacrifice UC productivity, UC jobs, and UC values — no deal that leads to losses! Another contact opportunity is linked here.

Save Our Science Initiative — Concerned California scientists working to preserve research efforts in California amidst federal interference

Support undergraduate students who are speaking out!

Expand our coalition! Reach out to UC alumni and concerned community members — ask them to push Governor Newsom and elected officials to urge the UC to avoid negotiation, engage in legal action to preserve funding and independence, and to seek an alternative source of funding.

Contact us for more ways to get involved! And, check back here fore more actions to take as our coalition grows!

Shortly after Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States, his administration began revoking hundreds of millions of dollars in fellowships and grants won by researchers in higher education across the US, causing hundreds of researchers at the University of California to suspend their research in progress. Numerous lawsuits have been filed in opposition to these fellowship and grant revocations, and several have been successful in the short term, nationally and at the University of California.  But the final disposition of these lawsuits will depend on the future decisions of appeal courts, including ultimately the Supreme Court, which are increasingly constituted by Trump Administration appointees.

The Trump Administration also has instituted drastic reductions in the percentage of funds awarded to grant recipients that could be used to cover indirect costs at the universities where they were employed, drastically reducing the amount of money available to universities to cover their “facilities and administrative (F&A)” costs.  These reductions will greatly impact the University of California’s ability to provide a high-quality education for their undergraduate students.

The Trump Administration also has shuttered or eviscerated agencies such as USAID, that have traditionally provided funding for research in higher education. And it has advanced budgets for remaining agencies such as the National Science Foundation that will greatly reduce funding for future research in higher education.  These federal actions will greatly reduce the funds available to researchers at the University of California to conduct crucial (often life-saving) research, will undermine the education of graduate students who otherwise would become the scientists and scholars of the future, and will lead to layoffs of significant numbers of support staff.

More recently, it has become clear that the remaining granting agencies have been instructed by their Trump Administration appointed leaders to disproportionately award new grants to researchers employed by institutions of higher education located in red states, away from universities in blue states such as California.

Many commentators see this as part of a general political attack on higher education, as outlined in project 2025. Though this webpage articulates what is happening at the University of California, we see this as part of a broader attack on higher education, science, and academic freedom.

At the end of July the federal government suspended nearly $600 million in grant funding to UCLA, including grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, and the Department of Energy. These grants included grants for basic research, for training students and scholars, and other activities. 

Settlements at other institutions have not led to reduced federal involvement, and in fact may lead to more.

Shortly following this suspension, the UC received a 29 page demand letter and a request for $1 billion in order to restore the lost funding. 

The UC administration has not released the text of this letter, but based on early reporting and settlements from other institutions, supports for minoritized students (including scholarship opportunities), access to gender affirming care, student free speech, faculty academic freedom, and independence from federal political positions are all likely to be at risk. 

The UC is central to California’s economic might.

UC is California’s third largest employer, with spending and activities that support more than a half million jobs across California.

UC powers cutting edge innovation, producing an average of five inventions every day and powering California’s tech sector, biotech breakthroughs, climate solutions, and medical advancements.

UC produces  $21 in economic output for every $1 of investment.

UC generates $82 billion in annual economic activity, helping to make California the fourth largest economy in the world.

Beyond it’s sheer economic impact, Californians agree that the UC supports the state in a variety of important ways. It is the second largest provider of healthcare in the state. UC educated about 300,000 students in 2024, and through various research and practical opportunities regularly supports the development of young scientists, artists, journalists, teachers, public servants, and scholars. Across campuses, UC scholars engage in community partnerships that support the work and ideas of everyday Californians, and help address our state’s thorniest problems include those around the climate, public health, and other key issues. The UC recently posted this information about the current scale of federal investment in research, and what it does for Californians.

The freezing of federal funds is no less than an attempt for the federal government to have unprecedented control over the operations of the UC. The demands likely include the loss of scholarships for students of color; the closure of campus student groups and offices designed to promote success for historically marginalized and minoritized students; loss of access to medical care for trans individuals; changes to protections for undocumented students; restrictions on free speech and expression; restrictions on academic freedom including what is taught; and future restrictions on research content which will stifle innovation and understanding. The proposed $1 billion fine is no less than a tax on all Californians. All Californians are likely to be impacted, and many are already fighting.

Over 3000 Californians have signed this letter written by UCLA faculty asking the UC to stand up for its values 

Hundreds of UC law faculty assert that federal administration’s funding cuts are illegal 

Hundreds of Jewish faculty members at UC condemned the federal administration’s punitive funding cuts 

Over 1000 Californians have signed this demanding that the UC stand up for gender affirming care at UC hospitals

UC faculty propose and fight for a California Futures Fund to ensure UC independence from federal overreach

UCLA Undergraduate Students Associate Council write to Governor Gavin Newsom and UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk urging them to preserve the integrity of the UC

Faculty and students urge transparency and resistance to federal pressure

CUCFA and UCLA FA have filed a lawsuit asking UC to release the federal settlement demands to help garner the support of all Californians

The Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA) supported UC faculty members in restoring suspended NSF funding.  

CUCFA coordinated with a coalition of UC unions to write a statement against federal extortion.

CUCFA is affiliated with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which recently, alongside Harvard University, won a lawsuit against the federal administration. AAUP argued that the actions the federal government took at Harvard (analogous to what is happening at the UC) was illegal– and a federal judge agreed. This is a major victory and provides a path forward for the UC. Read the full decision here.