Hunter
07/18/25
Newly released figures from Iowa’s top research universities show drops in funding for the budget year that ended June 30th.
The Gazette reports the University of Iowa’s $705.6 million in total external funding for fiscal 2025 was a 22 percent drop from last year and its lowest research funding total since 2019.
Iowa State University’s $549.3 million in external funding for fiscal 2025 was down 5 percent from last year, although still the second highest in ISU history.
The budget year was split by the final months of the Biden administration and the first months of the Trump administration. Trump imposed new funding mandates shortly after taking office, affecting the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Departments of Energy, Education, and Defense, among others.
Both the University of Iowa and Iowa State have created “federal update” webpages for their on-campus researchers. The last update on July 1st on the UI webpage said, “Researchers should continue work on their existing federally-funded projects unless they are told to stop. The federal workforce is sustaining reductions in staffing. As a result, investigators will likely face communication delays about their currently-funded projects, submitted proposals, and future funding opportunities.”