Latest news with #DEI-related
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Some Johns Hopkins, UMD research stopped after Trump cuts. Others are scrambling to resume
BALTIMORE - Some Maryland university research projects on the Trump administration's chopping block have been fully discontinued, while others are scrambling to resume after a pause in funding. Johns Hopkins has lost more than $800 million in federal grant money. The University of Maryland lost tens of millions of dollars. But some cuts have been blocked by legal challenges, though litigation is ongoing. Researchers describe disappointment and uncertainty as they determine how to move forward. Alternative funding has been secured for a clinical trial in Bangladesh aimed at managing life-threatening diarrheal diseases in children, which was previously halted because of U.S. Agency for International Development funding cuts. The work has yet to resume. "It just takes a long time to rebuild the teams and get things in place again to start," said Judd Walson, chair of the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University, which partnered on the project. "The disruptions that are happening are really catastrophic." Over the past several weeks, 17 NIH awards have been terminated or had an unclear status, including two training awards supporting doctoral-level researchers, Walson said. "We're not getting a lot of communication, so it's a little bit hard to say exactly what the status of some of these awards are," he said. The National Institutes of Health didn't respond to questions about funding cuts to Maryland research institutions. In a lawsuit challenging NIH research cuts, lawyers for the federal government wrote in a recent court filing that its terminations of grants for DEI-related studies were "sufficiently reasoned," and that the NIH has "broad discretion" to decide what grants to provide. Johns Hopkins is a plaintiff in two lawsuits involving caps on reimbursement of indirect costs for research - one challenging the NIH and the other against the Department of Defense. The latter suit also lists the University of Maryland, College Park, as a plaintiff. Both schools have also filed a brief in support of a lawsuit filed by Harvard University against the Trump administration's funding cuts. New grant terminations have been arriving "nearly every week," Johns Hopkins University said in a recent update published on its website. There's also been a nearly two-thirds decrease in new awards compared with last year, the university said. Johns Hopkins atmosphere and ocean sciences researcher Darryn Waugh was disappointed upon receiving notice that his NASA grant to study air pollution in Baltimore was canceled by the Trump administration. The termination came as a result of President Donald Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing." "It wasn't clear to me that this actually falls under this diversity, equity, inclusion," Waugh said. "It was research that I think we still wanted to do - to understand how the air pollution varies through the city - and the environmental justice was only actually a relatively small component of it." Waugh was working through the second year of a three-year grant, totaling $1,465,950. "We've got kind of a preliminary analysis," he said, regarding the research. "But to get anything conclusive, we would need more than one year of funding." Waugh said he intends to find ways of continuing the research without the NASA grant. Daniel Mullins, at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, had a grant canceled for a "Health Equity Research Hub," which examined how to encourage greater participation in health-related research. Mullins said the loss of the grant affected five positions, and the individuals will be removed from the university because of lack of funding. He added that the termination stated that the grant was DEI-related, which he disputes. "I think under the DEI umbrella, a lot of times, the government will refer to it as just one racial ethnic group," he said. "We've worked in different geographies, in different racial and ethnic populations, but what's cool about what we do is it really does apply to all patients in all populations." Mullins said his research group has additional funding from other agencies and is writing new proposals. Walson said social determinants of health - involving factors like poverty and other "inequities" - are "foundational to our understanding of health." "So the idea that we would not be able to pursue work that focuses on identifying and managing those particular issues, which are the underlying, core issues at the heart of health issues, is really challenging," Walson said. The Trump administration's cuts have had an ieffect across the world. Walson said it's estimated the cuts will result in hundreds of thousands of deaths globally, and could eventually lead to millions of deaths over the next couple of years. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said it's "a lie" that people have died because of USAID cuts. During a congressional hearing in May, Rubio said the U.S. is the world's "largest humanitarian provider." "I would argue: How many people die because China hasn't done it?" he said. "How many people have died because the U.K. has cut back on spending and so has other countries?" Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Boston Globe
06-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
US companies delay impact reports with DEI, ESG under attack
Nike joins a growing list of companies that includes JPMorgan Chase & Co., Constellation Brands Inc. and Akamai Technologies Inc. that are either canceling or delaying publication of their so-called sustainability or corporate impact reports for shareholders. While companies aren't legally obliged to disclose such information, most S&P 500 members did so in 2024. For more than a decade, this is usually the time period when companies tout the steps they're taking to lower carbon emissions and improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion of their businesses. Opposition to these reports first surfaced about three years ago when GOP lawmakers and activists began pressing companies to scale back such efforts. And some companies have reacted by taking steps such as scrubbing ESG and DEI-related words from public documents. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The election of President Donald Trump has further empowered the anti-DEI movement. During his first week in the White House, he signed executive orders ending federal diversity programs and restricting gender definition to two sexes — male and female. None of the companies contacted said Trump's actions changed their planning for releasing sustainability reports. Advertisement 'The consequences of reported information are much greater now than they were a decade ago,' said Martin Whittaker, chief executive officer of JUST Capital, noting that both progressive and conservative activists are searching for evidence of companies' missteps. Advertisement Whittaker estimates that about 25 percent of sustainability-related corporate reporting is behind schedule this year. Here are some of the S&P 500 companies that have yet to publish sustainability reports, according to researchers at DiversIQ. Nike, JPMorgan, Constellation Brands, and Akamai Technologies have different explanations for why their sustainability reports haven't been published this year. Nike said in an email that it still plans to share the work it's doing to create a more inclusive and sustainable world for athletes in other formats and that its commitment to diversity goals for 2025 hasn't changed. In a regulatory filing, JPMorgan said it plans to release a consolidated report on ESG and climate topics later this year. However, the bank added that it will 'monitor the evolving disclosure landscape as we iterate on our approach to disclosure.' JPMorgan published its '2024 Climate Report' in November. At Constellation Brands, a spokesperson said the timing of the publication's release was adjusted after receiving 'stakeholder feedback.' The next report is scheduled to be issued next month, the spokesperson said. Cambridge-based cloud computing and cybersecurity company Akamai said its data-center vendors were partly to blame for a delay in publication until the end of this quarter. The company wasn't more specific. For the past several years, Pfizer Inc. had published an impact report by April. When contacted last week about the delay in publication, a company spokesperson said the timing was adjusted to 'allow for necessary internal processes in preparation for evolving global ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting requirements.' The company released its report this week. Advertisement The lack of information is a blow, even if temporary, to corporate transparency. Many shareholders rely on the disclosures to gauge how serious companies are about addressing ESG issues, inequities in the workforce and other factors that can impact the short- and long-term value of their investments. Activist investors who've pressed companies to release more data on DEI and climate initiatives have been willing to cut companies some slack this year, given the heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration. Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, which supports social responsibility, said executives have been asking him privately for some flexibility in what information they release this year. 'We told them to not put themselves at risk right now,' Behar said. 'That isn't good for anyone.' And the caution is warranted, said GianCarlo Canaparo, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has warned against possible discrimination in company DEI programs. Corporate leaders are aware that Trump has asked agency heads to identify nine companies or organizations that should be investigated for possible illegal DEI activities, Canaparo said. So far, the names haven't been made public, but it's clearly on companies' radar, he said. 'If you have been using race preferences, you really want to make sure you don't get caught,' Canaparo said. 'And if you haven't, you want to make sure you aren't dragged into litigation to explore whether you have.' Mathieu Benhamou and Fiona Rutherford contributed to this report.
Hindustan Times
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
After Harvard and Columbia, Trump admin continues to target over 60 universities
As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on US universities and colleges, the president has signed a ban on foreign student visas for Harvard University. Donald Trump has signed into a place a six month ban on foreign student visas for Harvard University amid its row. Furthermore, the Trump admin has also targeted Columbia University and threatened to strip the fellow Ivy league college of its accreditation. ALSO READ | Trump suspends entry of international students studying at Harvard These efforts come as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on DEI-related initiatives across universities and its response to the pro-Palestinian protests that swept US campuses last year. With Harvard and Columbia in the spotlight, the US Education Department has opened over 104 investigations against universities and colleges across the 50 states. As per a report by Education Week, the Department of Education has opened at least 104 investigations against universities, school districts and colleges as of June 3. Of this, 70 have been against higher education systems such as Harvard, Columbia, Brown University and more. These 70 names also include the various out-of-state branches of universities. As per the Education Week report, 52 universities have been targeted for the DEI-initiatives, which Trump alleges promotes admissions based on race. The remaining have been targeted for their role in the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests. Universities and colleges across the US have been targeted for several reasons stated by the Trump administration such as antisemitism, race based programming, services for students with disabilities and disclosure of foreign contracts and gifts. Universities have also been targeted for their policies for transgender students, which as per the Trump administration, goes against the president's executive order which declaring only two genders. Universities such as Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, Pennsylvania and Princeton are among the list of higher education systems targeted by the Trump administration. (Based on notices issued by the US Education Department)
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Target boycott launched: Here's what's behind it
The People's Union USA is asking consumers to once again boycott Target. Between June 3-9, the activist group, led by John Schwarz, is calling for people to not shop at the retail chain, instead asking supporters to shop local. "Take the week to spread the word — no more Target. We don't need Target. We don't have to shop at Target," Schwarz said in a June 2 Instagram post. "Shop locally and independently. It's time that people teach a corporation a lesson and let's take that lesson out on Target." Here's what to know about the latest Target boycott. It's essentially for the same reason the activist group organized previous boycotts against Walmart, Amazon and Nestle and General Mills. Although The People's Union blackouts started at a similar time as other DEI-related boycotts, Schwarz told The Arizona Republic that the actions of The People's Union USA are not directly tied to companies' DEI stances. "The mission of The People's Union USA is to hold corporations and corrupt systems accountable, not with violence or empty promises, but with the one thing that actually affects them, the money we spend," Schwarz said via email. This isn't the first boycott against Target this year. Soon after President Donald Trump took office in January, Target joined a wave of major retailers announcing the end of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The changes included ending a program aimed at helping Black employees advance in the company and supporting Black-owned businesses. When the rollback was announced, Target said it already planned to end the program this year. This decision prompted consumers upset with the DEI rollback to boycott the major retailer. A national Target boycott in honor of Black History Month began Feb. 1, led by Minnesota activists. The ongoing Latino Freeze movement asks Latinos to stop spending money at Target and other major retailers that cut DEI. A 40-day boycott during Lent led by Black church leaders ended April 17. There are 107 Target locations in New York, according to the company's store directory, including seven in the Rochester area, and seven in Rockland and Westchester counties. Penfield: 2161 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road Henrietta: 2325 Marketplace Drive Greece: 600 Greece Ridge Center Drive Irondequoit: 500 Skyview Centre Parkway Chili: 3181 Chili Ave. Victor: 7500 Commons Blvd. Webster: 1050 Ridge Road Mount Kisco: 195 North Bedford Road, Suite A Mount Vernon: 500 East Sandford Blvd. Port Chester: 495 Boston Post Road Spring Valley: 50 Spring Valley Market Place West Nyack: 4120 Palisades Center Drive White Plains: 9 City Place Yonkers: 9005 Xavier Drive Looking to save on groceries?: Here's this week's store price breakdown Not all that well. Target acknowledged its reputation has been damaged by the boycotts in its annual report on financial performance filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for fiscal year 2024, which ended in February. The company's net sales were down 2.8% compared with the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, according to Target's Q1 earnings report, and foot traffic, or the number of people entering Target stores, was also down. In February 2025, the first month of boycotts, Target's foot traffic was down 9.5%, according to And the week of March 31, Target's store traffic was down 7.9% compared to the previous year, Newsweek reported. Target's stock price is also down. On April 14, it hit the lowest point in five years at $94. At the end of January, the price per share was $142. Emily Barnes on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network's New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@ This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New Target boycott launched: Here's what's behind it
Economic Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Economic Times
Santa Ono rejected for University of Florida presidency amid political backlash
Santa Ono, former University of Michigan president, was rejected for the University of Florida presidency following criticism over his support for diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The Board of Governors voted against his appointment despite earlier approval by the Board of Trustees. Ono previously announced DEI cuts and faced protests at U-M Santa Ono speaks at a University of Michigan event in Ann Arbor before stepping down in May 2025. His bid to lead the University of Florida was later rejected by the state's Board of Governors (Emily Elconin/The New York Times) Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Santa Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, will not become the next president of the University of Florida following a vote by the Florida Board of Governors on June 3. The decision followed criticism from conservative voices in Florida and beyond concerning Ono's record on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and campus protests during his time in Ann had previously received unanimous backing from the University of Florida Board of Trustees, including an offer for a five-year contract worth up to $15 million. However, the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state's 12 public universities, reversed course. Critics cited concerns about Ono's past support of DEI initiatives and his handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of read: Education secretary Linda McMahon urges universities to align with Trump administration for federal funding The criticism intensified as Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott publicly opposed the nomination. In a June 2 post on X, Scott said Ono allowed what he described as an "illegal, pro-terrorist encampment" to remain on the U-M campus for nearly a month. He added that Ono's DEI-related policies were divisive and prioritized activism over student safety and educational March, Ono announced the closure of U-M's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The redirected funds were planned for the Go Blue Guarantee, a tuition support initiative for in-state students meeting income eligibility. The move was seen as an attempt to align with changing political pressures under President Donald Trump's also faced scrutiny from the US Department of Education earlier this year. In February, the administration warned universities against using race as a factor in admissions. By March, 60 universities, including U-M, were under review for what federal officials called inadequate responses to antisemitism. U-M's removal of a protest encampment in the Diag led to lawsuits and national debate over campus protest read: US: Pause on student visa interviews faces criticism from LinkedIn co-founder Ono resigned from the University of Michigan in May after being named the sole finalist for the Florida job. The Free Press was unable to reach him or representatives from U-M for comment on the Florida board's Florida Board of Governors' rejection of Ono highlights the growing influence of political considerations in presidential searches at public universities. With education policy becoming increasingly polarized, decisions over university leadership are increasingly shaped by issues such as DEI programs, campus free speech, and federal compliance related to civil rights and rejection follows a broader trend in higher education, particularly in states where political leaders have taken strong stances against DEI frameworks. Florida has implemented new regulations targeting DEI initiatives and public university governance, echoing federal efforts to reshape higher education standards and funding priorities.
