On September 1, AAU joined Educause, COGR, and APLU on a letter to Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord urging the Defense Department to exclude fundamental research from the potentially burdensome and harmful requirements of the the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program requirements. The substantial new requirements that could be imposed on research universities could have a chilling effect on Defense research done on university campuses. The organizations call on the CMMC Advisory Board, the Office of Acquisition and Sustainment, and the Office of Research and Engineering to consult with research universities about the nature and consequences of the broad implementation of the CMMC program.