Overview
- A broad coalition of UC faculty groups, unions and students filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 16 alleging the administration is trying to commandeer the university system and suppress protected speech.
- Roughly $584 million in UCLA research grants were suspended in July; a judge later ordered the National Science Foundation to restore some awards and the agency complied, while other freezes remain unresolved.
- A Justice Department demand letter, described in court filings and news reports, proposes installing a federally approved monitor, expanding federal access to campus records and imposing policy changes, with a payment reported at about $1 billion to $1.2 billion to restore funding.
- Faculty groups this week also sued the UC Board of Regents to obtain the confidential demand letter; a judge directed the regents to justify withholding the document and plans an October hearing.
- UC leaders warn that about $17 billion in annual federal support is at risk, and California lawmakers introduced SB607 to pursue a ballot measure creating a state research funding backstop, while the administration frames its actions as civil-rights enforcement under Title VI.