Leading Research Universities Report

A coalition of more than 140 universities, businesses, scientific societies, and professional organizations, including AAU, urged Congress last week to restore funding for the National Science Foundation to FY23 levels and to reverse cuts that occurred to the agency’s budget in FY24 and FY26.

The Student Aid Alliance, which AAU helps lead, sent a letter last week emphasizing the importance of federal student aid programs in ensuring the success of low-and middle-income students.

A new AAU analysis of publicly available data from the National Institutes of Health shows a significant slowdown in the rate of competitive awards made by the agency so far this fiscal year.

Research funding provided by the National Institutes of Health in FY25 supported 390,863 jobs and drove $94.15 billion in new economic activity nationwide, a new report by United for Medical Research found. The report credits strong, bipartisan congressional support in the last decade for the continued investment in NIH research funding, but notes the challenge stemming from recent use of multi-year funding.

America’s national security innovation base will falter without stronger commitments to basic science, public research and development, and a more robust talent pipeline, says a new “report card” from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

New data from the National Science Foundation show that investment in research and development continues to increase in the United States, with an estimated total of $993 billion of R&D performed in 2024 – but that the increase tilts heavily toward developmental research rather than fundamental, curiosity-driven research.

AAU staff took part in the National Humanities Alliance’s (NHA) annual meeting and joined delegations from across the United States on Humanities Advocacy Day to advocate on Capitol Hill for federal funding for humanities programs and to underscore the positive impact that humanities research investment has on our nation.

In a recent comment letter, AAU encouraged the Department of Energy to establish new dual-competency training pathways that help students gain both AI fluency and deep expertise in a scientific or engineering field.

Last week, AAU submitted a comment letter urging the Department of Education to delay finalizing a proposed rule that would implement changes to the federal student loan programs initially enacted last year in the H.R. 1 reconciliation bill.

Over the past six months, several AAU universities have announced efforts to expand free tuition programs for students from families earning an income of $100,000-$200,000.