WASHINGTON – On May 9, the National Science Foundation (NSF) scrapped dozens more grants as the Department of Government Efficiency presses forward with a sweeping review of the agency’s projects, according to multiple insiders familiar with the adjustments.
In a staff memo leaked to USA TODAY, the NSF also revealed the dismantling of its Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM. The memo indicates the agency is laying off approximately 70 employees and eliminating about 300 temporary positions. Furthermore, workers who have been operating remotely will be required to relocate to NSF’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, by June 16.
The now-defunct Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM had championed “diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM,” striving to break down barriers and ensure full participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering fields, according to a webpage that was taken down on May 9.
The grant cancellations mark the third wave of terminations to upend the agency in recent weeks. In total, the NSF has stopped more than 1,400 projects worth more than $1 billion, according to a public list of canceled grants maintained by researchers at science nonprofit rOpenSci and Harvard University.
Many of the terminated grants have been touted by the Department of Government Efficiency as “wasteful DEI” funding and several align with a 2024 report published by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz identifying projects he argued had been “politicized.”
In addition to the grant changes, the agency’s director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, abruptly resigned from his position late last month. Panchanathan was appointed to the lead the agency that funds nonmedical scientific research during Trump’s first term.
In late April, DOGE staffers showed up at the NSF headquarters, multiple NSF employees told USA TODAY. A few days later, the agency announced it would adjust its priorities to eliminate awards “with more narrow impact limited to subgroups of people based on protected class or characteristics,” including those related to “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation.”