May 8, 2026
This email is being sent to PIs with open federal awards, deans, research associate deans, and unit heads whose units have federal sponsored projects.
Dear Colleagues,
As we come to the end of the academic year, the air on campus feels charged with a sense of accomplishment. It’s a good time to reflect on the last 15 months or so as we’ve navigated an ever-changing research landscape. I remain impressed, encouraged, and grateful for how we’ve come together.
Your everyday commitment to research adds up to big moments. Let’s celebrate that the last year brought amazing discoveries at CSU and that we have come together to navigate changes. CSU research is supporting a NASA satellite mission to study weather, finding innovative treatments for cancer, understanding the dynamics of past and present forest fires, and developing blood products to help the military and trauma patients. These are just a few of the thousands of powerful research projects underway.
As with last year, the President Trump’s budget request proposed some dramatic cuts to science agencies for fiscal year 2027. Congress has begun to develop their appropriations bills. In the bills they have released so far, they have mostly rejected the drastic cuts. The rest of the bills will be released throughout the summer, and we are monitoring the process closely.
CSU is supporting legal action by the Attorney General regarding the new USDA award terms and conditions by providing a declaration outlining their potential impacts to CSU. In the meantime, we continue to move forward with accepting USDA awards after careful review, and we will closely monitor developments. Please continue to work with the Office of Sponsored Programs to submit proposals to the USDA as this plays out over the next several months.
There have been a few notable proposed changes at the National Science Foundation as well. A new director has been nominated, who will need Senate confirmation. The White House dissolved the National Science Foundation board that plays a vital role in advising Congress and the White House on scientific issues and the functioning of the NSF. The administration has also proposed eliminating the Social Behavioral and Economics Directorate at the NSF beginning in FY27, and appears to be taking steps to move SBE functions to other directorates. We are working with our national associations and peers to communicate the value of the agency overall and SBE specifically. Please keep submitting proposals. We expect traditional calls to be replaced with fewer, more comprehensive calls, and where you submit proposals may be different. We encourage you to reach out with questions and still submit even if the process looks a little different.
I know many of you know students who are taking finals, defending their dissertations, and graduating. Take time to celebrate their big moments with them. Students are the heart – and the future – of what we do. Thanks again for all that you do.
Best,
Cass
Cassandra Moseley, Ph.D. (she/hers)
Vice President for Research
Professor, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship
Office of the Vice President for Research