Standing Together for Science: Supporting Our Community Amid Federal Funding Challenges

By:

I am sharing an update to my January 27 From the Prow message regarding the Executive Orders and directives coming from the United States federal government and how they are affecting AGU’s members and the broader scientific community.  

We are requesting your input on how these federal directives have been impacting you and your work, as your shared experiences are vital to our advocacy efforts. Based on what we know in this moment, much of what is coming from the Executive branch of the U.S. government runs counter to AGU’s mission and values and harms our members. 

In the last two weeks, the Trump Administration issued a number of Executive Orders and a memo from the Office of Management and Budget freezing thousands of federal science grants and programs. While the White House rescinded the memo associated with the freeze and a court has temporarily enabled some grants to move forward, the Administration has indicated it intends for the freeze to remain in effect.   

In response to the Administration’s confusing messaging, various federal agencies are implementing differing and evolving actions concerning grants, travel, and communications. We know that these actions are affecting a great number in the AGU community, sowing confusion and dismay, jeopardizing ongoing and future research, and disrupting the careers of federal scientists and employees and the career paths of students and early career scientists.  

AGU is alarmed by the federal action taken to dissolve programs and fire staff working on issues related to diversity and inclusion, terminate climate change initiatives, diminish the role of federal scientists, and halt funding for nearly all federal research grants and programs, even those that were congressionally mandated.  

We – AGU’s membership, volunteer leaders and your staff partners – must come together in response to these changes. Coming together starts with hearing from you. As I mentioned, please help us by participating in this short survey on how government decisions are affecting you, your careers, your work, your scientific discipline, and your communities. You may participate anonymously, and your feedback is invaluable in helping us work in support of science and our scientific community. 

I want to underscore that AGU does not walk alone as we navigate the road ahead. We are actively communicating and coordinating with partner institutions throughout the scientific community, in the United States and globally. It is important that we take the time to understand the implications of the federal government’s actions so that we can act and advocate for our members and our science. AGU remains committed to advancing our priorities for the Earth and space sciences as described in our strategic plan, and to our organizational values. And we stand with organizations around the globe working in support of science through collaboration, partnership, and community. 

I will continue to reach out so we can work together to move forward together.   

Janice R. Lachance, JD, FASAE
AGU Interim Executive Director and CEO

 

  

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