Senior University leadership updated the Pitt community on how the federal government shutdown and delayed state budget are affecting research and finances during a virtual University-wide town hall on Oct. 22. Panelists also went over the annual report highlighting University achievements.
According to Rob Rutenbar, the senior vice chancellor for research, the effects of the government shutdown are “modest so far.”
Rutenbar said all necessary government agency websites are still working — meaning researchers can and should still submit proposals for funding within the listed deadlines. Reviews of submitted proposals and invoice reimbursements are both paused during the shutdown, so applicants should expect delays in the notice of awards and reimbursements, according to Rutenbar.
Rutenbar also addressed the award appeals that Pitt filed for research awards terminated by the federal government. Rutenbar said Pitt has received 10 “no” responses from the federal government to their 35 appeals.
“[The responses] mean the government declines to reinstate the award from our appeal,” Rutenbar said. “Several appeal awards have, however, been reactivated, but it’s unclear right now whether those were due to our appeals.”
Indirect cost recovery rate is also a factor that Pitt has had to consider when looking at the Trump administration’s policies on research. Indirect costs are research costs that aren’t a part of the actual research but are still needed to complete research, such as lab operation and maintenance or utility costs. The federal government gives reimbursements to universities to help pay for these costs.
Pitt and other universities in the Association of American Universities filed a lawsuit in June against the Department of Defense for a Trump administration policy that would have capped indirect recovery costs at 15%. This policy would mean all National Institutes of Health grant awardees would only get 15% at most of their indirect costs covered by the federal government.
Geovette Washington, senior vice chancellor and chief legal officer, said a federal district court judge recently ruled to halt this policy.
“This prevents the Department of Defense from going forward with [the policy], and that allows us to not have to deal with that right now,” Washington said. “The government has 60 days to appeal that decision, and we expect that they will.”
Due to the halted DoD policy, Pitt was able to negotiate their indirect cost recovery rate with the federal government over the summer and kept their 59% indirect rate for the next three years, according to Rutenbar. Rutenbar said the government offered this rate — keeping it unchanged from the last negotiation in 2022 — and Pitt accepted.
“Every three or four years, research universities like Pitt negotiate with the federal government to set their indirect cost recovery rate,” Rutenbar said. “This is the number that we use to calculate overhead for research.”
Rutenbar said being able to keep Pitt’s rate unchanged is a good sign, but it doesn’t mean there won’t be changes in the future.
“I want to caution that [this rate] does not prevent the government from making downward adjustments or changes to how indirect cost recovery works across the nation,” Rutenbar said. “The Office of Management and Budget can still change these rules, which are called uniform guidance.”
The Pennsylvania state budget has gone over 100 days without being approved. Pitt gets about 7% of its annual revenue from the state appropriation account.
Dwayne Pinkney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, said 100% of these funds go to providing the in-state tuition discount for Pennsylvania students.
“The state appropriation pays for about 40% of that discount, and the University pays the remaining balance,” Pinkney said. “The lack of the state budget means our cash flow has taken an approximately $50 million hit, to date.”
Pinkney said the University is still receiving reimbursements from the state government, but they don’t know how long the reimbursements will last.
“In the wake of these challenges, I just want to indicate here and emphasize that the University is committed to meeting its financial obligations,” Pinkney said. “As we have before, we’ll continue to manage on a short-term basis through prudent fiscal management so that we can meet the needs of our students, faculty and staff.”
Chancellor Joan Gabel presented the annual report, which highlights accomplishments of the faculty, staff and students along with University-wide achievements.
The annual report highlights the growing number of undergraduate applications, with enrollment jumping from 20,418 students in 2024 to 21,406 in 2025.
Gabel said more and more students are choosing to apply to Pitt, which puts the University on-pace to reach its goal of 22,000 enrolled undergraduate students in 2028.
“The demand is at an all-time high, and it’s looking that way for next year, too, and I know that that creates some pressures,” Gabel said. “I want to make sure you know that that’s acknowledged and seen with a lot of thought and planning going around to mitigate those pressures.”