The full Board of Visitors met Friday to discuss the state of federal funding for research at the University and the administration’s efforts to promote viewpoint diversity. The Board also elected Rachel Sheridan as Rector and Porter Wilkinson as Vice Rector — both will serve terms of two years beginning July 1.
Vice President for Research Lori McMahon provided an update to the Board on research funding at the University, given cuts to federal funding which have occurred at the University and at universities across the country. According to McMahon, 78 percent of funds for sponsored research at the University come from federal sources. Of this federal funding, 51 percent of grants come from the National Institute of Health.
McMahon reported that as of Friday, 44 research grants, totaling around $64 million, from the federal government have been terminated — the largest number of these terminated grants were from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment of Arts and Humanities and the National Institute of Health. However, she noted that the University is in a better position than its peer institutions…