The Trump administration froze about $210 million in federal funding to Princeton University on Tuesday, about half of the university’s total federal grants for this fiscal year, according to reports from various media outlets. The university confirmed Tuesday that officials had been notified that dozens of grants were suspended by several federal agencies, including NASA and the Departments of Defense and Energy. In a campuswide email sent Tuesday, Princeton president Christopher Eisgruber said the agencies had provided no reasoning for the funding freeze and did not cite a specific dollar amount...
Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/04/02/trump-admin-freezes-half-princetons-federal-funding.
From the Daily Princetonian:
University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 signaled that Princeton would not make concessions to the federal government in an interview with Bloomberg after news broke that the Trump administration had suspended dozens of the University’s research grants. “I’ve heard you speak about efforts by powerful actors — in government and outside it — who are trying to control the research that scholars do and the classes they teach. How difficult is it to keep a firewall up, keep insulation surrounding this campus, to keep those ‘powerful actors,’ as you put it, out of the classrooms, out of the campus itself?” David Gura, the Bloomberg reporter, asked.
“I think it requires a very firm commitment to principle and a willingness to do hard things. University presidents and leaders have to understand that the commitment to allow academics — including our faculty, including our students — to pursue the truth as best they see it is fundamental to what our universities do,” Eisgruber responded. “We have to be willing to stand up for that. In principle, we have to be willing to speak up, and we have to be willing to say no to funding if it's going to constrain our ability to pursue the truth.” ...
During the 40-minute interview, Eisgruber acknowledged that there were “rare” manifestations of antisemitism on Princeton’s campus, and he said the University would address “legitimate concerns where they exist.” ...
Full story at https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/04/princeton-news-adpol-eisgruber-university-concessions-bloomberg-interview.
Also from the Daily Princetonian:
Following funding cuts, a hiring freeze, and increased scrutiny from the federal government, the Board of Trustees did not announce the total operating budget for the University in its budget plan press release for the 2025–26 academic year. However, the University did commit to “projected” increases in undergraduate financial aid and graduate student stipends.
This annual announcement typically updates the campus community on important information regarding the operating budget, financial support for students, and how costs have changed. The missing operating budget marks a departure from the past three years, as the University has shared it in these announcements since the 2022–2023 academic year, and may reflect continued uncertainty about future funding...
And finally from the Daily Princetonian:
The University has announced that it is considering selling approximately $320 million of taxable bonds. The sale, first reported on by Bloomberg on Tuesday afternoon, follows the Trump administration’s freezing of several dozen Princeton research grants. The notice itself does not mention the funding cuts but states that the bonds will serve the University’s “general corporate purposes.” The bonds, index-eligible with a maturity of five years, are a way for the University to raise short-term funds. The major credit-rating agencies rate University bonds AAA, the highest level of creditworthiness...
Full story at https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/04/princeton-news-adpol-issuing-bonds-same-day-federal-government-pauses-grants.
A final note from yours truly: Princeton differs from Columbia in not having a medical school, i.e., it is less dependent on the feds for revenue than Columbia. Although both universities are grouped in the Ivy League, grad students make up about 36% of the total enrollment at Princeton and 75% of the total enrollment at Columbia. Princeton's total enrollment is under nine thousand students. Columbia's enrollment is well over 35,000. They are fundamentally different institutions in size and research (and dependence on the feds).
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