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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Rob Rutenbar, the senior vice chancellor for research, the effects of the government shutdown<\/a> are \u201cmodest so far.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rutenbar said all necessary government agency websites are still working \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rutenbar also addressed the award appeals<\/a> that Pitt filed for research awards terminated by the federal government. Rutenbar said Pitt has received 10 \u201cno\u201d responses from the federal government to their 35 appeals.<\/p>\n \u201c[The responses] mean the government declines to reinstate the award from our appeal,\u201d Rutenbar said. \u201cSeveral appeal awards have, however, been reactivated, but it\u2019s unclear right now whether those were due to our appeals.\u201d<\/p>\n Indirect cost recovery rate <\/a>is also a factor that Pitt has had to consider when looking at the Trump administration\u2019s policies on research. Indirect costs are research costs that aren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Pitt and other universities in the Association of American Universities<\/a> filed a lawsuit<\/a> in June against the Department of Defense <\/a>for a Trump administration policy that would have capped indirect recovery costs at 15%. This policy<\/a> would mean all National Institutes of Health grant awardees would only get 15% at most of their indirect costs covered by the federal government.\u00a0<\/p>\n Geovette Washington, senior vice chancellor and chief legal officer, said a federal district court judge recently ruled to halt this policy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis prevents the Department of Defense from going forward with [the policy], and that allows us to not have to deal with that right now,\u201d Washington said. \u201cThe government has 60 days to appeal that decision, and we expect that they will.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 keeping it unchanged from the last negotiation in 2022 \u2014 and Pitt accepted.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery three or four years, research universities like Pitt negotiate with the federal government to set their indirect cost recovery rate,\u201d Rutenbar said. \u201cThis is the number that we use to calculate overhead for research.\u201d<\/p>\n Rutenbar said being able to keep Pitt\u2019s rate unchanged is a good sign, but it doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be changes in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Rutenbar said. \u201cThe Office of Management and Budget <\/a>can still change these rules, which are called uniform guidance<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania state budget has gone over 100 days without being approved<\/a>. Pitt gets about 7% of its annual revenue<\/a> from the state appropriation account.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state appropriation pays for about 40% of that discount, and the University pays the remaining balance,\u201d Pinkney said. \u201cThe lack of the state budget means our cash flow has taken an approximately $50 million hit, to date.\u201d<\/p>\n Pinkney said the University is still receiving reimbursements from the state government, but they don\u2019t know how long the reimbursements will last.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the wake of these challenges, I just want to indicate here and emphasize that the University is committed to meeting its financial obligations,\u201d Pinkney said. \u201cAs we have before, we\u2019ll 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.\u201d<\/p>\n