Since taking office in January of 2025, the Trump administration has cut over $12 million in federal research funding, leaving educators and students in complete disarray. Researchers are struggling, and the future of public health hangs in the balance. This isn’t just a bump in the road; it’s a direct attack on life-saving research and a targeted threat to international students whose immigration status and visas rely on a system that’s actively being dismantled.
Time-sensitive projects with real implications for public well-being, such as NIH-funded initiatives on vaccine development and LGBTQ+ health research, that push society forward, improve healthcare systems and influence public policy have been cut short. That progress is now halted. Yet, UW-Madison’s leadership responded with weak statements, refusing to directly address the root of the issue: this presidential administration is deprioritizing education in favor of culture wars and political optics.
The consequences of this silence are tangible and devastating. Faculty and staff across departments are struggling with slashed budgets, paused research and uncertainty about the future of their work. Graduate admissions have already decreased by 25%, a number that signals deep instability in the university’s research system. It’s a warning, and still, the university continues to act as if condemnation alone is a strategy. While UW has engaged in legal action against the Trump administration to prevent wrongful funding cuts and grant terminations, it falls short.
Losing funds, students and staff is only the tip of the iceberg. Consider Krish Lal Isserdasani, an international student from India who completed his bachelors in Computer Science this May. What should’ve been a celebratory occasion was instead clouded by fear — fear that his visa might be terminated under Trump’s new rules. And he’s not alone. Countless international students have faced anxiety, uncertainty and potential deportation. They were only met with a statement signed by Chancellor Mnookin, a deeply inadequate response to this crisis.
These human costs cannot be brushed aside. The university has a responsibility to protect its students and researchers, especially those most vulnerable to federal policy shifts. Empty statements of concern aren’t enough. If UW-Madison was truly committed to the Wisconsin Idea, the belief that education should improve lives beyond the classroom, then now is the time to act.
A more meaningful response would be to involve actionable institutional policies. Partnering with other major research universities could help sustain research efforts in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, building and expanding partnerships with charities and local agencies to create alternative funding arrangements for research would provide critical support and help.
The long-term consequences are clear. UW’s loss of graduate students and federal funding will erode its prestige, slowing innovation and causing them to lose their competitive edge. This is incredibly damaging for a school known to be one of the top research universities and for its groundbreaking discoveries. Public health initiatives will suffer, constrained by limited resources and delayed timelines.
Then comes the brain drain, where talented minds — both students and faculty — will look to other universities more prepared to support them and their research. Recruitment will become more difficult, and academic quality will inevitably decline. MIT and UC Berkeley have teamed up with other schools to keep research going and to push for science-friendly policies at the federal level. These institutions aren’t just surviving the cuts, they are adapting, protecting their people and asserting their values.
These cuts don’t just setback labs, they hit the heart of what UW-Madison stands for. Graduate students, supported by research grants, are the engine of innovation here. Letting them fall through the cracks is more than a mistake, it’s poor leadership. It betrays the Wisconsin Idea and risks the university’s mission of generating new knowledge through research.
Protecting international students and preserving groundbreaking research isn’t just an administrative concern, it’s a reflection of UW-Madison’s values. The future of the Wisconsin Idea depends on it.
