Dr. Kamal Khayat, vice chancellor for research and innovation, sent the following message to faculty, staff and graduate students on Jan. 28.

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to update you on recent federal policy changes and their potential affect on research and operations at Missouri S&T.

The latest news

• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) late yesterday (Monday, Jan. 27) issued a memo, M-25-13, requiring federal agencies to identify and review all federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the president’s recent executive orders.
• OMB has issued guidance requesting agencies to temporarily pause, where permitted by law, any grant, loan, or federal financial assistance programs implicated by the executive orders. A federal judge today (Tuesday, Jan. 28) blocked the restrictions from taking effect at least until Monday, Feb. 3. We are sharing the following information while the block is in effect to keep you as up-to-date as possible in this fluid situation.
• Read the memo

Key points

• Student Loans and Pell Grants: Programs providing direct benefits to individuals, such as student loans and Pell Grants, are not affected.
• Scope: The pause is limited to programs inconsistent with the recent executive orders. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has provided a Q-and-A for frequently asked questions.
  Read the Q-and-A.
• Timing: Agencies will work with OMB to quickly determine if programs are affected. Some pauses may last as little as a day. Many programs have already been approved to continue before the pause takes effect.
• Payments Required by Law: Any payments mandated by law will continue without interruption or delay.

National Science Foundation (NSF) guidance on Jan. 28, 2025

All NSF review panels, new awards and all payments of funds under open awards will be paused as the agency conducts the required reviews and analysis.
NSF has created an executive order implementation webpage to ensure the widest dissemination of information and updates.
All NSF grantees must comply with these executive orders, and any other relevant executive orders issued by ceasing all non-compliant grant and award activities. Executive orders are posted at whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions. This may include conferences, trainings, workshops, considerations for staffing and participant selection, and any other grant activity that uses or promotes the use of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) principles and frameworks or violates federal anti-discrimination laws.
Please work with your institutional research office to assist you in complying with the executive orders.
You can also direct your questions through this webform.

Department of Energy (DOE) guidance on Jan. 28, 2025

DOE is moving aggressively to implement this executive order by directing the suspension of the following activities in any loans, loan guarantees, grants, cost sharing agreements, contracts, contract awards, or any other source of DOE funding:
diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and activities involving or relating to DEI objectives and principles; and
Community Benefits Plans (CBP); and
Justice40 requirements, conditions, or principles.
Recipients and subrecipients must cease any activities, including contracted activities, and stop incurring costs associated with DEI and CBP activities effective as of the date of this letter for all DOE grants, cooperative agreements, loans, loan guarantees, cost sharing agreements, or other DOE funding of any kind. Recipients are responsible for communicating and enforcing this direction with all subrecipients and contractors. Costs incurred after the date of this letter will not be reimbursed.
Additional guidance will be forthcoming. Recipients who have DEI and CBP activities in their awards will be contacted by their Grants Officer to initiate award modifications consistent with this order.

What this means for S&T

Grant submission portals remain active, and our sponsored programs team continues to process submissions and manage invoices to federal agencies and for other sponsored projects.
It is our understanding that these actions are temporary but may be expanded to other federal agencies. We recognize that these interruptions may create challenges, particularly for researchers who rely on federal funding. Unless directed otherwise by official agency communication, all operations should continue as normal.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to document any effects these changes may have on their work. Please report challenges to research@mst.edu.
The situation is fluid; updates will be shared as they are available.

You can track agency directives and memos as they are released.

Thank you for your dedication to Missouri S&T and your contributions to advancing research and innovation.

Best regards,

Kamal Khayat, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation