By David Beard, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN – Uncertainty remains the key word as WVU continues to work out how Trump administration executive actions will affect the university. WVU Vice President for Research Fred King and WVU President Gordon Gee both addressed that problem for the Faculty Senate on Monday.
King spoke in the context of grants and contracts facing possible termination. “Since the end of January it’s been very emotional,” he said.
On any given Friday, he said, there’s a new executive order. Lawsuits opposing it are filed the following Monday, and a court injunction soon follows. “I think it’s important to not be emotional as we think about this. Our approach as a university is to be calm and rational.”
(For example, WVU faces a loss of $12 million in research funding from a National Institutes of Health cap on funding for indirect research costs at 15%. In early April a federal judge issued a permanent injunction barring that move, which the NIH is appealing.)
King said they work with WVU’s legal office and appeal an order when it makes sense to do so. They also work with the state’s Congressional delegation, often behind the scenes, trying to help them understand the impacts of the various executive actions.
