The U.S. Justice Department notified the University of California, Los Angeles that it is suspending “certain research funding” to the public school, including National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health grants, UCLA stated on Thursday.
“This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants,” stated Julio Frenk, chancellor of UCLA. “It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that $200 million in grants were at stake. (The Justice Department declined to comment.)
The federal government’s decision means “hundreds of grants may be lost, adversely affecting the lives and life-changing work of UCLA researchers, faculty and staff,” Frenk said. “In its notice to us, the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons. This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.”
“We share the goal of eradicating antisemitism across society,” the chancellor said. “Antisemitism has no place on our campus, nor does any form of discrimination. We recognize that we can improve, and I am committed to doing so.”
Frenk said UCLA has taken “robust actions” to make the campus safe and welcoming, including creating an Initiative to Combat Antisemitism.
“These initiatives are deeply personal to me. My paternal grandparents left Germany in the 1930s with my father, who was 6 years old, and my aunt, who was 4,” he stated. “They were driven out of their home by an intolerable climate of antisemitism and hate. Members of my family who did not make that decision perished. My wife is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, whose family was murdered in the concentration camps.”
Frenk said he was drawn to UCLA because of its tolerance.
“Federal research grants are not handouts. Our researchers compete fiercely for these grants, proposing work that the government itself deems vital to the country’s health, safety and economic future,” he said. “Grants lead to medical breakthroughs, economic advancement, improved national security and global competitiveness. These are national priorities.”
The Justice Department found recently that UCLA is guilty of “deliberate indifference” to threats against Jews and violations of their rights during an antisemitic encampment in spring 2024. “Our investigation into the University of California system has found concerning evidence of systemic antisemitism at UCLA that demands severe accountability from the institution,” Pamela Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, stated on July 29.
The Justice Department “will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk and continue our ongoing investigations into other campuses in the UC system,” she added.
