UCLA says it is losing some federal research funding

Research and its benefits are at risk after UCLA’s Chancellor says a freeze in federal funding at the school could have a big impact.

The Trump administration froze $200 million in federal UCLA medical and science research funding, accusing the university of failing to stem antisemitism on its campus.

“This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants,” said UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk in a campus wide message. “It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.”   

Earlier this week President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi said the school would pay a “heavy price” for its treatment of Jewish and Israeli students.

Many UCLA students had complained of antisemitic incidents on the campus since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The complaints increased during Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza and campus protests that escalated since May last year.

“We reject this cynical weaponization of antisemitism, and the misinformation campaign spinning calls for Palestinian freedom as antisemitic,” said Faculty for Justice in Palestine at UCLA in a statement. “We must name this for what it is: a thinly-veiled attempt to punish supporters of Palestinian freedom, and to advance the long-standing conservative goal of dismantling higher education.”

Source: NBC Los Angeles