Why should I care about cuts to federal research grants?

It isn’t just the “ivory tower”

Many people talk about university researchers as living in the “ivory tower” unaware of the needs of people in society.

I challenge you to pause for about 10 minutes and watch this video courtesy of PBS News to better understand potential long-term impacts of Trump’s cuts to research funding.

(And yes, I know the video is about medical research funding, but the same applies to education. Also, NIH funds more than medication research. They fund research into child development, reading, language, speech production, and so much more.)

Beyond that video, did you know that research grant funds also help pay tuition for students working in those labs? Yes. They can make higher education more affordable.

It’s part of the reason most grad and doctoral students look for labs with funding.

If research funding is decreased, then we may end up with less socioeconomic diversity in higher education due to the cost.

If research funding is decreased, then students who choose to pursue higher education degrees are likely to have higher student debt.

What can you do?

• Contact your representative and senator
• Speak UP! Post on social media!

Disclaimer. Information provided in this post by, Stephanie M. Nixon, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is provided in good faith. Nixon Speech and Language, LLC makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information supplied by other sources.

Information provided here is for informational purposes only.