MIT President Sally Kornbluth warned that federal actions are driving a sharp drop in research activity on campus. Kornbluth said federally funded research is down more than 20% compared with the same period last year, with new federal research awards also falling by more than 20%. The warning underscores pressure universities face when federal policy changes alter grant flow, award timing, or compliance expectations—impacting both research output and graduate enrollment. MIT’s message, delivered to the campus community in a video update, frames the reduction as a loss for a major research ecosystem, raising the stakes for how universities plan staffing and long-term lab capacity amid uncertainty.