The University of Hawaii has set another record for external funding for the fourth consecutive year despite ongoing concerns that UH remains at risk of losing more federal research grants.
Until the upcoming federal fiscal year begins Sept. 30, UH officials are cautiously celebrating the $734 million they expect to receive from outside sources, notably over 90% from the federal government.
UH President Wendy Hensel today plans to join Gov. Josh Green and members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation at the UH Cancer Center to mark UH’s “extramural funding” record that was spared deeper cuts after they were successfully challenged in mainland courts — and even by red state Republicans in Congress whose universities also rely on federal funding, Hensel said.
She expects the Trump administration to keep proposing cuts to universities that, since this month already, have seen UH lose 66 federal grants valued at more than $89 million, Hensel said.
“We’ve seen some changes to bring them back by legislators who recognize the value of some of the things that have been terminated, like biomedical research and other important things that were never about political issues,” Hensel said. “There’s no doubt there will be significant impacts next year. There’s no good news. Just less bad news.”
For today, at least, Hensel and her administrators will celebrate UH’s newest funding record, which represents a jump of $118.3 million — or 19.2% — over last year’s previous extramural funding record of $615.7 million.
Hawaii officials were especially concerned about losing millions in federal funding this year after President Donald Trump took back the White House in January and immediately began issuing executive orders to eliminate federal spending for any programs aimed at DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — and made nationwide efforts to purge the federal workforce, including eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.
Other federal agencies that UH relies on remain under the threat of deeper cuts, like the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and NASA, said Vassilis Syrmos, UH Manoa’s interim provost who oversees federal relations for the UH System.
“This is an unbelievable achievement for UH,” Syrmos said. “On the other hand, I don’t know what comes next. We have to look forward to predictions of what is going to happen. It’s not particularly rosy.”
Like untold university officials, researchers and professors across the country, S. Lani Park — a UH cancer epidemiologist and co-leader in the Cancer Center’s population sciences in the Pacific program — worried that her federal grants were at risk because of their focus on individual ethnic groups in Hawaii.
Park looks at “disparities research” on different cancer rates and risks among various ethnicities.
Park said the work has “set a lot of standards, not just in our state but in our nation.”
Some of Park’s research focuses on “underserved populations” that she worried would make it a target to lose federal funding.
“But we haven’t lost funding,” she said. “None of my grants have been terminated.”
Other funding for UH research includes $1.56 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work at UH Manoa to study and understand the experiences of residents, first responders and others involved in the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires.
The UH Cancer Center also received $792,000 from the American Cancer Society to help Native Hawaiian men understand their risk of prostate and other urinary cancers and address social barriers, such as a lack of transportation.
The John A. Burns School of Medicine received $551,767 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support research on indigenous addiction and pain management treatment outcomes for Native Hawaiians.
Still, Park joins Hensel and Syrmos in their concern about how long the flow of federal dollars will last.
“I don’t want to spin it that we’re out of the water,” she said.
At the same time, Park also enjoyed the moment of another funding record for UH.
“This,” she said, “is a testament to how great UH is.”
UH funding
>> $570.4 million: External funding for the University of Hawaii at Manoa
>> $98.7 million: Funding for the UH System
>> $31.3 million: Funding for UH’s seven community colleges
>> $23.9 million: UH Hilo
>> $9.7 million: UH West Oahu
Source: University of Hawaii
Source: The Garden Island
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