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Schnitzer gift will contribute to funding new international relations major

The Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages has begun development on a new international relations major which will be partially funded by a recent $25 million gift from Portland real estate developer Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. 

The university currently offers a major in global studies and according to Schnitzer School Executive Director Aneesh Aneesh, the two areas of study have a few notable differences. 

“Global studies is more about global processes that do not necessarily involve nation-states,” Aneesh said. “International relations is more state-centric, so it takes the nation-states as important. It treats them as important and also tries to understand the relations among them.” 

Aneesh said the proposal for the major would be written by a scholar who knows the field of international relations well and would be funded by a grant the Schnitzer School received from the Department of Education. 

“The scholar who writes this proposal and launches this major will include, for example, courses from within (the Schnitzer School). We have a lot of courses that we already offer on international development or international human rights, but we also want to include relevant courses from the department of political science,” Aneesh said. 

According to Aneesh, students who study international relations will gain a variety of skills, including diplomacy and security. 

“Security is a much broader human security term, they will have the knowledge and understanding and analytical capability in these particular fields,” Aneesh said. 

Aneesh also said international relations majors would have the opportunity to pursue a number of different career paths. 

“(International relations majors) will be welcomed by any international organization anywhere, whether it’s the United Nations, agencies, department of state (or) foreign services officers, for example,” Aneesh said. 

According to Aneesh, international relations students may also work in non-governmental organizations and think tanks. 

“Some of the fields might require a master’s degree, some may not, but what opens up to them is international agencies and organizations, related areas and departments, think tanks (and) NGOs that do a lot of human rights work,” Aneesh said.

Aneesh said five to six new faculty members have already been hired who specialize in the international relations discipline. 

“We have fortunately recently hired great faculty, but we also in UO outside the (Schnitzer School) have in political science, and in other departments, as well as law school, for example, some expertise in international relations and law issues,” Aneesh said. 

Aneesh said any new major would require funding for marketing, promotion and developing courses. The Schnitzer gift will help to fund fellowships awards and promotional events.

“If you wanna get great students, sometimes you have to offer a little bit of fellowship; if you want to attract the brightest and the best sometimes a little bit of fellowship incentive would work, so the gift will go toward that, student funding and attracting students to the discipline to the majors,” Aneesh said. 

Jane Cramer, an associate professor of political science with a research interest in international relations, said she believes UO could be one of very few universities to have a well-developed international relations major on the West Coast. 

“It’s very good that (UO is creating an international relations major) because this is much bigger at most universities on the East Coast, I would argue, because they’re near Washington D.C.,” Cramer said. 

Cramer said the international relations major will be beneficial for UO. 

“We don’t have as many people as most universities doing this stuff, so I think (the gift) will help us a lot,” Cramer said. “(International relations) is not as well developed here as at most universities would have, and I think students are hungry for it, and the world needs it, so it’s a good thing to do,” Cramer said.

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Schnitzer gift will contribute to funding new international relations major

The Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages has begun development on a new international relations major which will be partially funded by a recent $25 million gift from Portland real estate developer Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. 

The university currently offers a major in global studies and according to Schnitzer School Executive Director Aneesh Aneesh, the two areas of study have a few notable differences. 

“Global studies is more about global processes that do not necessarily involve nation-states,” Aneesh said. “International relations is more state-centric, so it takes the nation-states as important. It treats them as important and also tries to understand the relations among them.” 

Aneesh said the proposal for the major would be written by a scholar who knows the field of international relations well and would be funded by a grant the Schnitzer School received from the Department of Education. 

“The scholar who writes this proposal and launches this major will include, for example, courses from within (the Schnitzer School). We have a lot of courses that we already offer on international development or international human rights, but we also want to include relevant courses from the department of political science,” Aneesh said. 

According to Aneesh, students who study international relations will gain a variety of skills, including diplomacy and security. 

“Security is a much broader human security term, they will have the knowledge and understanding and analytical capability in these particular fields,” Aneesh said. 

Aneesh also said international relations majors would have the opportunity to pursue a number of different career paths. 

“(International relations majors) will be welcomed by any international organization anywhere, whether it’s the United Nations, agencies, department of state (or) foreign services officers, for example,” Aneesh said. 

According to Aneesh, international relations students may also work in non-governmental organizations and think tanks. 

“Some of the fields might require a master’s degree, some may not, but what opens up to them is international agencies and organizations, related areas and departments, think tanks (and) NGOs that do a lot of human rights work,” Aneesh said.

Aneesh said five to six new faculty members have already been hired who specialize in the international relations discipline. 

“We have fortunately recently hired great faculty, but we also in UO outside the (Schnitzer School) have in political science, and in other departments, as well as law school, for example, some expertise in international relations and law issues,” Aneesh said. 

Aneesh said any new major would require funding for marketing, promotion and developing courses. The Schnitzer gift will help to fund fellowships awards and promotional events.

“If you wanna get great students, sometimes you have to offer a little bit of fellowship; if you want to attract the brightest and the best sometimes a little bit of fellowship incentive would work, so the gift will go toward that, student funding and attracting students to the discipline to the majors,” Aneesh said. 

Jane Cramer, an associate professor of political science with a research interest in international relations, said she believes UO could be one of very few universities to have a well-developed international relations major on the West Coast. 

“It’s very good that (UO is creating an international relations major) because this is much bigger at most universities on the East Coast, I would argue, because they’re near Washington D.C.,” Cramer said. 

Cramer said the international relations major will be beneficial for UO. 

“We don’t have as many people as most universities doing this stuff, so I think (the gift) will help us a lot,” Cramer said. “(International relations) is not as well developed here as at most universities would have, and I think students are hungry for it, and the world needs it, so it’s a good thing to do,” Cramer said.

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Real estate developer Jordan Schnitzer gives $25 million gift to UO CAS

On May 13, the University of Oregon announced that the College of Arts and Sciences received a commitment of $25 million from Portland real estate developer, philanthropist and UO alumnus Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. 

UO President John Karl Scholz sent out an email regarding the gift addressed to the UO community. 

“This gift will accelerate UO’s impact on the world while centering student success and a flourishing community,” the email read. 

The email also announced that the School of Global Studies and Languages will also be renamed to the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages in recognition of Schnitzer’s contribution. 

“The Schnitzer School will be home to the Center for Global Futures, bringing together interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners to address the complex global challenges of today and tomorrow,” the email said. 

According to a press release regarding the gift, a total of $15 million will be given through 10 annual payments of $1.5 million. The first installment was received in spring 2025. An additional $10 million is committed as a “legacy gift” through Schnitzer’s estate.

The press release also said the commitment will be used to fund lectures, an annual academic conference, scholarship prizes, attracting new faculty and creating a new international relations major.

Schnitzer said that after discussing the School of Global Studies with Scholz, he met with Executive Director of the School of Global Studies and Languages Aneesh Aneesh and was impressed with his insights. 

“That led to drafting and negotiation, which took some time, and back-and-forth and back-and- forth. We created this program, while the commitment is $25 million, it’s $1.5 million a year for 10 years, and we requested $10 million, in theory, for when I pass away,” Schnitzer said. “I would hope that we pay that off a lot sooner. (I hope) I live a long time.” 

Schnitzer said he feels good about the renaming of the school because it will honor his late parents, and that he hopes the school will prepare younger generations for the future. 

“(What) I’ll feel good about, and on behalf of my late parents, is that this school will go on, I would hope in perpetuity. Its classes will evolve and change upon the current times, but hopefully attract and excite younger people to realize that they need to be prepared to deal with not only domestic issues but their national issues and have a broader perspective than just our cities, our state (and) our country,” Schnitzer said. 

Schnitzer also said he hopes the school will prepare students for the changing world. 

“As they say, the world is getting to be a smaller and smaller place, both physically by air travel, but also by the Internet, media (and) communications. And people need to beware now that what happens in China or Russia, England, or in Pakistan or Canada or Mexico affects our democracy and our way of life,” Schnitzer said. 

Vice Provost of Global Engagement Dennis Galvan said in an email statement to The Daily Emerald that the gift will allow UO students to become “global citizens.”  

“The Schnitzer family’s extraordinary generosity implies the University of Oregon’s global engagement,” Galvan said. “This gift will empower generations of students in the School of Global Studies and Languages to become global citizens.” 

Galvan also said the gift would help students in their careers by providing them with more opportunities.

“With multilingualism and cross-cultural experiences from Friendly Hall to experimental studying and interning abroad, they’ll be prepared to tackle global challenges and forge impactful careers,” Galvan said. 

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Schnitzer Gift will contribute to funding new international relations major

The Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages has begun development on a new international relations major, which will be partially funded by a recent $25 million gift from Portland real estate developer Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. 

The university currently offers a major in global studies. According to Schnitzer School executive director Aneesh Aneesh, the two areas of study have a few notable differences. 

“Global studies is more about global processes that do not necessarily involve nation states,” Aneesh said. “International relations is more state-centric, so it takes the nation-states as important. It treats them as important and also tries to understand the relations among them.” 

Aneesh said the proposal for the major would be written by a scholar who knows the field of international relations well and would be funded by a grant the Schnitzer School received from the Department of Education. 

“The scholar who writes this proposal and launches this major will include, for example, courses from within (the Schnitzer School). We have a lot of courses that we already offer on international development or international human rights, but we also want to include relevant courses from the Department of Political Science,” Aneesh said. 

According to Aneesh, students who study international relations will gain a variety of skills, including diplomacy and security. 

“Security is a much broader human security term, they will have the knowledge and understanding and analytical capability in these particular fields,” Aneesh said. 

He also said international relations majors would be able to pursue a number of different career paths. 

“(International relations majors) will be welcomed by any international organization anywhere, whether it’s the United Nations, agencies, department of state, foreign services officers, for example,” Aneesh said. 

According to Aneesh, international relations students may also work in non-governmental organizations and think tanks. 

“Some of the fields might require a master’s degree, some may not, but what opens up to them is international agencies and organizations, related areas and departments, think tanks, NGOs that do a lot of human rights work.” 

Aneesh said five to six new faculty members have already been hired who specialize in the international relations discipline. 

“We have fortunately recently hired great faculty, but we also in UO outside the (Schnitzer School) we have in political science, and in other departments, as well as law school, for example, some expertise in international relations and law issues,” Aneesh said. 

Aneesh said any new major would require funding for marketing, promotion, and developing courses. The Schitzer gift will help to fund fellowships awards, and promotional events.

“If you wanna get great students sometimes you have to offer a little bit of fellowship, if you want to attract the brightest and the best sometimes a little bit of fellowship incentive would work, so the gift will go toward that, student funding and attracting students to the discipline to the majors,” Aneesh said. 

Jane Cramer, an associate professor of political science with a research interest in international relations, said she believed UO would be one of the first colleges to have an international relations program on the West Coast. 

“It’s very good that (UO is creating an international relations major), because this is much bigger at most universities on the East Coast, I would argue because they’re near Washington D.C.,” Cramer said. 

Cramer said the international relations program will be beneficial for UO. 

“We don’t have as many people as most universities doing this stuff, so I think it’ll help us a lot,” Cramer said. “It’s not as well developed here as at most universities would have, and I think students are hungry for it, and the world needs it, so it’s a good thing to do,” Cramer said.

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Who monitors demonstration activity on campus?

The Demonstration Education and Safety Team, formed in early 2024, is a group of faculty who have volunteered “to protect free speech on campus by ensuring that all members of our University of Oregon community can express their views and ideas safely and within university policy,” according to a university email statement to The Daily Emerald. 

The duties of DEST include providing UO’s free speech policies and requirements to demonstration organizers prior to events, observing protests, demonstrations and other events and ensuring UO policies are followed. 

The team also responds to questions and complaints regarding ongoing demonstrations and events from campus and community members. 

It’s important to recognize that DEST is not an enforcement body – DEST members do not make decisions about student conduct or discipline for any member of the university community,” the statement said. 

Another role of DEST is to educate demonstrators on their rights and responsibilities. 

“We see this as an opportunity to share how participants can share their views and concerns, while recognizing that it may be interpreted as telling students what they cannot do,” the statement said. 

According to UO Spokesperson Eric Howald, DEST did not wish to give names of their members. 

“We are not providing a name to attribute these answers to because members of (DEST) have been singled out and harassed by protesters. While we understand that not everyone agrees with the role that DEST plays, the employees involved are performing university-assigned duties,” Howald said. 

Robin Bailey, a member and organizer for UO Student Workers and Young Democratic Socialists of America, said they believed DEST is UO’s “intelligence arm” to monitor student demonstrations. 

“(DEST) is UO’s intelligence arm by which it stalks, catalogues and serves as a direct tip line to UOPD, the conduct code office and other law enforcement,” Bailey said. 

Bailey also said their photojournalism has been used as “weapons” against student organizers.

“I’ve seen several UOPD reports and conduct code charges which utilize my photojournalism, my photos, downloaded from my Instagram account as weapons against my fellow organizers, indicting them in chilling accusations of sound policy violation or disorderly conduct,” Bailey said. 

Bailey expressed concern over their belief that DEST is used as a way to “watch” students. 

“UO doesn’t like when its students dissent. Our university would rather us stay quiet, stay scared and stay meek little sitting ducks, so they watch us, so they have this ‘demo team,’ or whatever name they now go by, so we exist as organizers in this panopticon of a college campus,” Bailey said.

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Former football coach sued by UO for breach of contract

Former University of Oregon running backs coach Carlos Locklyn is being sued by the University of Oregon for breach of contract. 

The two-year contract contained details of Locklyn’s expected responsibilities, contract timeframe, fringe benefits and potential consequences of a breach of contract. 

On April 1, 2024, Locklyn notified UO that he would be departing from the team, effective that day. Locklyn’s contract stated that he must pay UO 50% of his salary in the event of his premature departure. 

The university claims Locklyn owes a $400,000 buyout, half of his two-year salary of $800,000. Locklyn is currently employed at The Ohio State University, where he also serves as a running backs coach. 

According to the complaint filed by UO, on May 24, 2024, Locklyn mailed a check to UO in the amount of $200,000. The university returned the check to Locklyn, citing his failure to pay the full amount owed. 

John Berg, Locklyn’s attorney, gave a statement regarding the lawsuit. 

“Coach Locklyn lawfully terminated his employment agreement with the University of Oregon and promptly delivered a check fully satisfying any possible obligation under the buy-out provision,” Berg said. “The university declined the check, and now asserts an untenable interpretation of the agreement. We welcome the opportunity to present the facts to a judge and are confident the litigation will be resolved to Coach Locklyn’s satisfaction.”

Carl Bjerre, a business law professor at UO specializing in contracts, said an employer might make an employee sign a contract for various reasons. 

“Contracts are such a basic tool for all kinds of people in society. Landowners get a contract for a building to be built, manufacturers get a contract for supplies to be furnished, any kind of situation where one person really needs to depend on another,” Bjerre said. 

Bjerre said there are many factors someone may take into consideration when making the decision to breach an employment contract. 

“(Better pay is) one common reason why somebody might breach, they get a better opportunity and they can’t do both. So maybe the pay is better, or maybe the team is stronger or maybe their promotion opportunities are stronger. There are going to be all kinds of reasons why one coaching job is better than another,and it’s in the person’s self-interest to take the best opportunity,” Bjerre said. 

UO spokesperson Eric Howald stated that UO did not wish to comment on the situation due to pending litigation. 

According to Buckeye Sports Bulletin, Locklyn’s current salary at Ohio State is $650,000.

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UOSW ratifies first contract

On May 14, the University of Oregon Student Workers Union ratified its first contract after 95.4% of members who participated in the vote approved it, according to a social media post

The vote opened on May 9 at 10 a.m. and closed on May 14 at 5 p.m. 

The contract includes, but is not limited to, an increase in starting wages to $16 per hour, sick leave for work study and harassment protections. 

The contract comes after a 10-day strike, which started on April 28 and ended on May 7. The strike came after nearly 11 months of bargaining between UOSW and the university. 

According to UO Spokesperson Eric Howald, the university is “pleased that members of UO Student Workers have voted to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement.”  

“This agreement represents a meaningful milestone in our ongoing efforts to recognize the valuable contributions of student workers and to build a more inclusive and supportive working environment on campus,” Howald said. 

This story is breaking and will be updated.



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Jennifer Reynolds named Dean of UO School of Law

On March 17, Jennifer Reynolds was named the permanent dean of the University of Oregon School of Law after serving as associate dean beginning in 2020 and interim dean in 2024. 

Reynolds has been an employee at UO since 2009 when she worked as a professor. Reynolds taught civil procedure, conflicts of law and negotiation at the law school, and is succeeding Marcilynn Burke, who served as dean from 2017 to 2024. 

“What happens in a role like mine is they only want to have a permanent (dean) after they’ve done a search, and so we had a national search for my role… I think there were three other people brought in in addition to me,” Reynolds said. 

According to Reynolds, there was a lengthy interview process beginning in January and going into February prior to becoming the permanent dean. 

“I serve at the pleasure of the president, and I report to the provost. I’ve been doing a lot of these same things in my interim role but now because it’s official, I can engage with faculty and staff in more ways,” Reynolds said. 

Reynolds attended the University of Chicago for her undergraduate degree where she majored in English language and literature before attending graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin and eventually graduating from law school at Harvard University. 

“When I got there, I thought I was going to really focus on business law. I was very interested, and I still am very interested in business, but I did lots of different things and finally ended up graduating and started working at a firm where I was specializing in First Amendment and then employment law,” Reynolds said. 

Reynolds said the position of dean includes multiple roles, including development and fundraising and alumni engagement. 

“There’s this sort of external constituents role that includes fundraising and externship generation, and then there is a big internal role when you’re kind of the manager of the entire school,” Reynolds said. 

According to Reynolds, her favorite part of her job is the students as well as the variety of her work. 

“I have (students) at the center of my thinking all the time, trying to figure out what will make it easier for them to learn, easier for them to get jobs, easier for them to pass the bar (and) easier for them to find their purpose,” Reynolds said. “I really love the variety of the work I get to do. The law school does so many different kinds of things.” 

Reynolds said her plans for the law school include raising UO Law School’s bar passage rate and employment rate as well as raising faculty profile. 

“We have very well-regarded faculty nationally, and I think we could be even more well-regarded if we just had even more opportunities for them to show their work or share their work; and I’m always looking for chances to do that,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds also plans to expand UO’s legal studies minor program. 

“We don’t advertise it; we don’t make a big fuss about it, and it’s one of the biggest minors on campus,” Reynolds said. “I would like us to continue growing the program so that it does lots of different extracurricular things in addition to the academic stuff… this is an area we haven’t traditionally focused on as much, but we want to.”

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UO introduces changes to sound policy

On March 31, the University of Oregon Scheduling and Event Services enacted several changes to its sound policy, including the use of a decibel-based sound measurement system, removing terms such as “plainly audible” and lifting the prohibition of the use of devices designed for sound production.

“The previous versions had in it that you could not use amplified sound, so we removed that element of the policy so folks can use amplified sound, or use tools to create sound, noises, horns (or) whatever,” Erb Memorial Union Director Eric Alexander said. 

This differs from the previous policy, which barred the use of sound amplification devices without approval from the university. 

Alexander said the new policy aims for a more objective noise measurement. 

“Using a decibel level or decibel measure helps to get a more clear picture of what noise means or what a disruptive sound level might be at,” Alexander said. “Generally speaking, there is just a lot of feedback that folks didn’t quite understand what qualified as disruptive sound.” 

The new policy states that outdoor sound cannot exceed 90 decibels for more than 10 cumulative minutes when measured 50 feet from the source of the sound. 

According to the policy, these restrictions apply from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday.

This differs from the previous policy, which stated that “plainly audible” means that the listener clearly can hear the content of the sound produced by the noise source. 

“Sounds which may be clearly audible include, but are not limited to: musical rhythms, spoken words and vocal sounds,” the previous policy says.

The scope of the new policy includes the EMU and surrounding spaces, general pool classrooms during non-class instruction events and campus outdoor spaces excluding those scheduled by UO Departments of Athletics, University Housing and PE & Recreation, according to the EMU website.

Alexander said the policy would be enforced either by EMU staff members or members of the Demonstration Education and Safety Team

“At certain events that are related to freedom of expression or our large-scale events, those team members can be on-site to monitor the sound as well, and we measure and document those violations,” Alexander said. 

According to the UO Division of Safety and Risk Services website, “the Demonstration Education Safety Team (DEST) provides education around the guidelines for freedom of expression activities on campus. DEST is also committed to ensuring that campus events are protected and allowed to flourish within our established university policies.” 

The sound policy page says university officials will use an app called Decibel X to measure sound levels. 

When revising the sound policy, Alexander said several factors were taken into consideration. 

“(University of Oregon Scheduling and Event Services) used environmental health and safety levels as kind of an initial starting point, and then looked at other universities who use decibel levels, and the rating that we have here is actually a higher level, meaning more lenient than other universities that we’ve compared to,” Alexander said. “We’re trying this policy as a way to provide more objective rather than subjective, and then it’s more about the sound level versus what’s creating the sound.” 

Robin Bailey, an organizer for the UO chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, described the sound policy as “absurd.” 

“It’s strange, and an obvious escalation and restriction of speech that (UO) find unruly,” Bailey said. “In the past, UO has utilized its sound policy discriminately toward activists and organizers, and I imagine this is a continuation of that same sort of (discriminatory) usage of the sound policy.” 

Bailey, who recently organized a rally for UOYDSA’s “Sanctuary Campus” campaign, said their members are not going to stop organizing demonstrations because of sound policies. 

“We’re not going to stop. We’re loud for a reason: because the university needs to acknowledge the issues that we’re raising; because these are students’ issues,” Bailey said. 

Bailey also said that sound policies and other student conduct policies “almost always” end up affecting student organizers conducting demonstrations. 

“Any kind of restriction on the level of sound that is allowed on campus is absurd and restrictive and almost always ends up in affecting people that are organizing like (for) labor and for Palestine and now for sanctuary campus. These kinds of policies are never waged at other events. They’re only ever against actions that are meant to disrupt the norm of the university,” Bailey said.

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“A lot is unknown”: the UO community responds to rescinded executive order pausing federal grants

On Jan. 29, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget rescinded Memorandum M-25-13, which ordered a pause on federal grants, including billions of dollars in federal funding to colleges and universities across the country. 

The order was blocked by U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, which has prevented its implementation.

According to University of Oregon spokesperson Eric Howald, 91% of UO’s $178 million budget for research between 2023 and 2024 was financed by federal funds. 

Anshuman Razdan, vice president of innovation and research, emphasized the importance of a federally funded university for research. 

“Millions of American schoolchildren use educational materials developed at the University of Oregon,” Razdan said in an email statement to The Daily Emerald. “The bottom line is that university research is absolutely critical to our society and to the economy — not for any one group but for everyone.” 

Ben Mannix, a PhD student at UO and the lead steward of natural sciences with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, said the majority of research assistants are funded by grants from federal agencies. 

“Our advisors, usually faculty, apply to federal agencies for grants. They receive these grants, they get deposited into UO accounts and that’s how we’re paid,” Mannix said. 

Mannix said the funding often comes from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy, among others. 

“If these agencies are either gutted through worker fires or funding freezes, or whatever it may be, in the future when our advisors go to reapply for more funding, the funding may get denied, it may take too long to process and for graduate employees, that means people may struggle to have the funding to finish their PhDs,” Mannix said. 

Currently, Mannix said those who may be impacted by funding cuts include those receiving grants from the NIH. 

“We’re keeping an eye on people who are funded through the National Institutes of Health because Trump orders have targeted funding through that institute specifically,” Mannix said. 

According to Mannix, cuts in federal funding could impact UO’s status as a research institution. 

“As an R1 institution, you need to be doing ‘x’ amount of research and graduating some number of PhD students per year,” Mannix said. “(GTFF is) in an information gathering stage ourselves, but a lot is unknown… we’re waiting to see how this plays out in the courts.” 

As of March 6, the spending freeze has been blocked by a second federal judge, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr.

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