Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
The flurry of activity from Washington continues to have many of us anxious about the future and concerned for our colleagues, friends, and family. I am sure you have many questions about how the President’s Executive Orders will affect you and the work you do at the IHP. Please be assured that we are monitoring the information from Washington in real time and addressing the areas we need to address right away and creating a watch list of issues we need to keep an eye on.
The primary areas that affect higher education right now are immigration, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activity, and sponsored research. The Office of Student and Alumni Services is working with our international students and, along with the JEDI office, providing support for our students from other countries. Our JEDI work will continue its work as it has in the past, providing support for our students and faculty to become more effective providers of health care and supporting our entire community in creating a respectful and inclusive environment. This is our mission and the values on which the IHP is built. This past weekend, we were issued a major blow when the National Institutes of Health reduced the Indirect Recovery Rate on grants to higher education to 15%; we are currently receiving 62%. The Indirect Rate helps to pay for space, utilities, insurance, human subject protection process, etc.—all those things that are not covered in the budget of a grant but are needed in order to do research. Provost Bushardt will be convening a task force to look at strategies we can use to address the reduction in resources coming to the IHP.
My message to you today is this: we understand that so many of you are struggling with all the changes that are coming from Washington. Please know that we are working with our colleagues in other regional and national organizations to keep abreast of the changes and their impact on our Institute. We will make any modifications that are necessary, but we are going stay the course until we sort out all the details. We are not going to make any anticipatory revisions.
We know this may be a stressful time for you, so we encourage you to talk to your manager or your faculty with any questions or concerns. Additionally, you can also reach out to the Employees Assistance Program or the Student Assistance Program.
Thank you for your commitment to the IHP and the exemplary work you do every day in educating the next generation of health professionals, building the science of health care, and creating an extraordinary community. With the support of each other, we will get through this challenging time.
President Paula Milone-Nuzzo