Ohio State suffers $29 million loss in recent DOGE cuts
Ohio State University has lost over $29 million in grants following the federal government’s decision to defund DEI-related grants.
The grant cancellations all come from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institute of Health (NIH).
Ohio State University has lost over $29 million in federal government grants following the federal government’s decision to defund DEI-related (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) grants, a new report has found.
NBC4 performed a recent review of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts to Ohio State government funding and found that since government agencies adjusted their grant policies to exclude DEI topics in April, the Columbus-based school has lost 28 grants totaling $29,265,841 of $69,976,445 of previously approved funds.
The grant cancellations all come from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institute of Health (NIH); both agencies shifted their policies to align with the administration’s policies on DEI.
Several of the grants include some reference to LGBT identities, including a $1.4 million grant for “Cannabis use disorder in LGBTQ+ women,” $815,881 for “Bisexual youth suicide risks,” and $858,221 for “Anti-tobacco messaging to LGBTQ+ youth.”
Other grants reference racial minorities and equity in STEM fields, such as $296,209 for for “Pathways for Black and Hispanic women in computer science,” $450,125 for “Intersectionality and HIV prevention in Black men,” and $31,736 for “Indigenous Resilience and Grassroots Ecotourism Development.”
“We are grateful for the research support we receive from our federal partners as these investments literally save lives right here in Ohio,” university spokesperson Ben Johnson told NBC4.
“Across the university, research continues, which benefits farmers, patients, military personnel, law enforcement, small businesses and Ohioans in all 88 counties, but we are closely monitoring and managing federal notifications that have impacted a number of our faculty and laboratories,” he continued.
Since President Trump took office, DOGE has targeted grants funding researchers at colleges and universities that don’t align with the administration’s policies on DEI.
In a press release from February, the Department of Education announced it had cut over $600 million in “Divisive Teacher Training Grants.”
“Training materials included inappropriate and unnecessary topics such as Critical Race Theory; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); social justice activism; “anti-racism”; and instruction on white privilege and white supremacy,” the release said. “Additionally, many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race.”
Campus Reform contacted Ohio State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
