BOZEMAN — Following President Trump’s executive orders to cut what he calls wasteful government spending, Montana State University remains in a holding pattern as it navigates the future of research funding.
“The past number of weeks have yielded a huge number of unexpected moves that there was really no way to prepare for,” says MSU Vice President of Communications Tracy Ellig.
Ellig says the bulk of the university’s funding comes from three sources: tuition, the Montana Legislature, and federal grants.
“The university receives more than $250 million a year in federal research funding. So we're talking about a very large enterprise with hundreds of people involved,” says Ellig.
In 2024, the university reported a record $257.9 million in research funding—the sixth straight year of record funding.
“ So, what's really important to understand is when these federal dollars go away, there's nothing to backfill them,” says Ellig.
Ellig says those research dollars also come with funds that help pay for costs for things such as supplies, utilities, and facilities.
“There's no source of funding to fill those holes. And so there's no other option but to lay people off or remove stipends for students or greatly reduce or close some of these core facilities,” says Ellig. “If it happens, though, there will be staff who will lose their jobs and there will be students who will lose stipends that they had in working with this."
Ellig noted that Montana State has seen several businesses blossom from research funded by federal dollars and the loss in funding could have a larger economic impact.
“Less investment in those areas of scientific research that have proven to cause blossoming of private business,” says Ellig.
Ellig he says he understands the uncertainty and frustration some MSU faculty and staff may have.
“What’s disconcerting the faculty is they worked very hard to come up and meet this expectation of the federal government. And then they've been working very hard on this research. And suddenly it's, like, being called into the question and they're like, well, we were just doing what you asked us to do, and now it feels like you're pulling—it feels like the federal government is pulling the rug out,” says Ellig.
