Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun joined 50 university presidents and industry leaders May 22 in signing a joint statement calling on the federal government to restore research funding, which has seen significant cuts under the second Trump administration.
The statement, titled “A Renewed Call to Action,” was released by the Council on Competitiveness and warns that there is an urgent need to revitalize the United States’ innovation system amid global disruption and mounting competition from China. It explains that the United States must reclaim its leadership in many key industries, including science and technology advancement, by reinvesting in research, infrastructure and talent.
Northeastern has been caught in the crossfire of the Trump administration’s numerous executive orders limiting federal research funding and targeting specific research topics. In February, an investigation led by Sen. Ted Cruz identified nearly $14 million of Northeastern’s National Science Foundation, or NSF, research grants as “neo-Marxist propaganda.” As of May 21, about 40 of Northeastern’s 900 total federal research grants have been terminated.
Aoun is a member of the Council on Competitiveness, along with other notable members including the CEO of PepsiCo and the president of Tufts University, who both signed the document.
“Today, the United States confronts geopolitical turmoil and transformation, and its most significant competitor in nearly 250 years: China, a nation which aims to rewrite the rules of the global economy, control emerging ‘dual-use’ technologies and dominate the strategic industries of the future,” the statement reads.
The statement says the U.S. federal government’s investment in research and development, or R&D, for the STEM field has fallen sharply from nearly 2% of the gross domestic product, or GDP, in the 1960s to 0.7% today. The cuts have been taking shape for decades while many of the nation’s adversaries increased spending, thereby boosting their competitiveness.
As a Tier 1 research university — a classification awarded to select universities across the U.S. by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education — Northeastern spends at least $50 million on R&D and produces at least 70 research doctorates annually. The university has several research projects funded by federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. National Security Agency.
In addition to halts on NSF grants, the Trump administration has rolled out several executive orders restricting funding for DEI-related research projects and attempted to slash indirect costs on grants. Many of these executive orders have been frozen in court.
The U.S.’s historical dominance in the science and technology industry since World War II has been based on “strategic partnerships and co-investment” with governments, national laboratories, industry partners and universities, the statement reads. These long-term collaborations have “driven unprecedented economic growth, created millions of high-value jobs, launched new industries, equipped the most powerful military in history and generated the world’s largest economy.”
“Our universities and labs generate new knowledge, drive regional economic development, educate the next generation of scientists, engineers and citizens, and develop the technologies and companies that shape modern life and strengthen national security,” the statement reads.
The letter proposes that “to achieve President Trump’s vision of a Golden Age of American Innovation,” federal R&D investment must be restored to 2% of the United States’ GDP. Signatories called for increased investment in critical dual-use technologies, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and semiconductors, as well as the enhancement of international technology alliances and the reduction of bureaucratic burdens on research. In addition, they call for a modernized “National Defense Education Act 2.0” to expand STEM education and talent development.
The May 22 statement is the second letter Aoun has signed calling for renewed efforts to increase R&D funding in the United States. On April 23, Aoun endorsed a joint statement titled “A Call for Constructive Engagement” denouncing the Trump administration for “endangering American higher education” by threatening academic freedom.
“We welcome efforts to tackle major challenges — including rising regulatory mandates and costly administrative burdens — but significant cuts to science agency budgets, reductions in staff and capacity at key federal offices, and proposals to significantly reduce indirect cost reimbursement threaten the research infrastructure that underpins America’s innovation capacity and capability,” the May 22 statement reads.
