Top 5 examples of higher ed waste exposed by Campus Reform in 2025
In 2025, Campus Reform uncovered millions in taxpayer dollars funneled into ideological research, controversial animal experiments, and left-wing activism at America's colleges and universities.
In 2025, Campus Reform uncovered millions in taxpayer dollars funneled into ideological research, controversial animal experiments, and left-wing activism at America’s colleges and universities.
From cross-sex hormone testing on mice to “anti-racist healing” in nature, colleges used public funds to advance progressive priorities with little oversight. These findings stem from Campus Reform’s original investigations into state audits, university budgets, and federal grant records.
Here are the top five most outrageous examples of waste in higher education uncovered in 2025:
5. Florida’s diversity and LGBTQ+ pride spending
Campus Reform highlighted questionable spending at Florida’s public universities after reviewing state audit records, university budget documents, and federal grant data.
Campus Reform found nearly $200,000 in student fees at Florida International University devoted to Pride Center and Pride Student Union activities, along with more than $100,000 at Florida Atlantic University for “diversity award training” programs funded through student activity fees.
The examples also included a $728,747 grant to Florida International University to study Black students in math courses at a Hispanic-serving institution and a $2 million federal award to the University of Florida to improve livestock productivity in Haiti.
4. Climate change studies by the Department of Defense
After the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) flagged more than $80 million in overall diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)–related Pentagon spending, Campus Reform dug deeper into federal records and identified roughly $5 million more spent on climate-focused academic projects funded by the Department of War, formerly the Department of Defense.
Among the grants uncovered were $1.6 million to Boise State University to study how climate change affects bird reproduction and migration and nearly $1 million to Columbia University to analyze how climate factors influence migration across international borders. Additional funding included $1.6 million to the University of Maryland to examine how climate change in Mozambique affects national security.
3. Racism in nature, babies, and alcoholism
Campus Reform uncovered millions of dollars in federal grants for university research that pushes race-based DEI ideology. Using the National Institutes of Health’s RePORTER database, Campus Reform identified taxpayer-funded studies that frame health outcomes, environmental conditions, and natural disasters as products of “systemic” or “structural” racism.
Among the examples uncovered were more than $3.2 million awarded to San Francisco State University for a program promoting “anti-racist healing” through outdoor activities, $442,500 to California State University Long Beach for research linking discrimination to heart disease in Black women, and nearly $300,000 to Duke University to analyze hurricane impacts through the lens of “structural racism.”
2. Binge-drinking monkeys, fighting hamsters, and motion-sick kittens
Campus Reform reviewed grant records and USAspending.gov and identified millions of taxpayer dollars funding controversial animal experiments at U.S. universities.
Among the most striking examples were $18 million to Oregon Health and Science University to give monkeys large quantities of alcohol to observe long-term health effects and over $2.8 million to Northeastern University to inject steroids directly into hamsters’ brains and provoke aggressive, staged fights for observation.
Another grant for $1.5 million went to the University of Pittsburgh to induce nausea in young cats by spinning them repeatedly, exposing them to bright lights and electric shocks, and in some cases drilling into their skulls during the experiments.
Campus Reform reviewed federal grant records to identify 10 university research projects that collectively received more than $12.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of cross-sex hormones on mice.
The projects involve administering testosterone or estrogen to young mice or rats to create what researchers describe as “transgender” animals, with the goal of modeling transgender-identifying humans.
Grants went to institutions such as the University of Michigan, Duke University, Harvard-affiliated hospitals, Emory University, and Indiana University, among others. Some studies explicitly state their aim is to inform medical guidance for transgender-identifying patients, including fertility counseling and hormone dosing recommendations.
Following Campus Reform’s reporting, the Trump administration cut over $700,000 in grants to Emory University for these studies.
Follow the author of this article on X and Instagram: @RealEmilySturge
