Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels is preparing the Baltimore campus for the possibility of major cuts to programs and staff after seismic changes to federal funding at universities announced last month.
Daniels’ letter to faculty, staff and students said more than $800 million in foreign aid contracts managed by the Hopkins School of Medicine, the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs and the affiliated humanitarian aid group, Jhpiego, had been terminated.
It’s the first time the university has put a dollar figure to those cuts, which would be on top of $200 million per year in possible biomedical research-related cuts that were previously identified. Hopkins is frequently the nation’s top recipient of research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
“At this time, we have little choice but to reduce some of our work in response to the slowing and stopping of grants and to adjust to an evolving legal landscape,” Daniels wrote. “There are difficult moments before us, with impacts to budgets, personnel, and programs. Some will take time to fully understand and address; others will happen more quickly.”
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Daniels stopped short of announcing specific job cuts tied to the foreign aid that Hopkins manages for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, which has been effectively shuttered.
He said most of that funding was first suspended, and is now terminated.
Read More
“Because of these funding terminations, we are in the process of winding down USAID grant-related activities in Baltimore and internationally, including impactful work to provide maternal and infant care, prevent the spread of diseases, and provide clean drinking water,” he said in the letter.
University spokespeople declined to comment further Tuesday.
Jhpiego and the Center for Communication Programs employ at least 4,400 people around the globe and possibly hundreds in Baltimore. Programs reach millions of people in disadvantaged nations around the world.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
The letter said university officials were “taking thoughtful steps to reduce expenses and to budget prudently.” Finance officials were working to plan for “various scenarios for potential funding reductions” so Hopkins could continue with its research and service missions.
The potential for massive cuts show how inextricably tied Hopkins is to the federal government. Daniels characterized the long-running partnership as fruitful, particularly the research conducted at the university that was first put under threat six weeks ago by the President Donald Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Daniels noted nearly 50% of Hopkins’ revenue was derived from research on behalf of the federal government. Other area academic research institutions, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore, also stand to lose substantial federal funding.
A Banner analysis of USAID contracts also shows more than 100 humanitarian aid groups and contractors in the state could lose funding, with some of them already reporting layoffs.
For Hopkins, Daniels pledged to continue communicating and changes with the campus.
“As we have been in the past, we are resolute in our commitment to facing the challenges before us together as one university. We will continue to advocate vigorously and passionately for the importance of our community’s work,” he wrote.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.