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UA鈥檚 new Bridge Funding Investment Program was announced late Thursday by Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation Tom谩s 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia.

The program is for 鈥渇aculty with an established track record of extramural funding who are experiencing temporary disruptions in external funding, particularly due to the delays or gaps in funding decisions or other disruptions to active grants,鈥� 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia said. 鈥淭his program aims to ensure the continuation of research projects, including but not limited to, preserving Ph.D. student support.鈥�

UA spokesperson Mitch Zak and 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia declined to comment on how much money is being invested in the bridge funding program, where the money is coming from, and how long the funds are expected to last to support UA research. The UA is still dealing with a budget deficit, whittled from $177 million in January 2024 to $65 million this fiscal year, that it plans to eliminate by July 1.

Keith Maggert, a UA professor of molecular and cellular biology and a faculty senator, said he is extremely happy that 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia is acknowledging how much the disruption in federal funding is hurting people at the UA.

鈥淭his bridge funding will keep labs open, keep students being trained, and keep progress rolling along,鈥� Maggert said Friday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a clear investment by the UA in its people. I am truly grateful to the people who put in long and hard hours to make this happen.鈥�

Details of the program overview, application process and evaluation criteria are only accessible to those with a UA ID. The program has been formed under the UA Office of Research, Innovation and Impact.

The announcement comes a few days after a heated UA Faculty Senate meeting, in which researchers told 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia they were frustrated and concerned that UA did not have a bridge funding plan in place 鈥� while some other universities including Yale did 鈥� to deal with the impacts of the Trump administration鈥檚 orders to reduce federal funding.

顿铆补锄 de la Rubia told them Monday that something was in the works and would be announced soon.

UA Chair of the Faculty Leila Hudson said she was pleased and impressed with the speed with which the senior vice president and his team responded to the Faculty Senate鈥檚 concerns.

Hudson noted, however, that the announcement didn鈥檛 include transparency about financial details, which the faculty have always wanted more access to. 鈥淥ur concerns about transparency are perennial,鈥� she said.

鈥淭hose questions about transparency stem from previous administrations where, again, access to real-time data about our finances would have helped us identify local problems much earlier. So, that鈥檚 not specific to this administration by any means, and I think as an institution, we鈥檙e actually working together quite well and with common purpose to stave off the worst effects of all these disruptive kind of political initiatives.鈥�

Maggert, who was one of the researchers who spoke up to 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia in Faculty Senate, said the bridge funding will definitely keep labs open, since he alone knows of three labs, his included, that would have to shut down or lay people off without it.

鈥淭hat would cause projects to be dropped, losses in lab/institutional knowledge and expertise, maybe dead experimental organisms (and) just having the option for the university to step in and direct life-saving funds is huge,鈥� he said.

Secretary of the Faculty Katie Zeiders said even a small amount of bridge funding will be invaluable to faculty and students, as certain faculty members had their grants terminated and others are awaiting the release of funds due to federal-level changes.

鈥淚n my conversations, faculty have expressed the most concern for their graduate students, who rely on these grants for financial support,鈥� Zeiders said.

鈥淭hey worry about students going without pay, as many depend on these funds for basic necessities like food and housing. In such cases, temporary funding can be especially beneficial. We appreciate the responsiveness of our senior leadership and remain committed to working together to navigate the evolving research landscape.鈥�

Zak and 顿铆补锄 de la Rubia did not say why the program details were only accessible with a university ID.

The program overview, application process, and evaluation criteria page, which the Star obtained access to, list the funding purposes as: bridging the gap between an expired or soon-to-expire grant and an expected new grant award; bridging gaps created by federal funding agencies; and focusing on preserving Ph.D. student support for the semester.

鈥淎s I read the announcement, it is directed at keeping grad students primarily, but also will cover staff (including postdoctoral fellows and technical experts), and minimal operating funds (e.g., keeping organisms and cells alive),鈥� Maggert wrote in an email to the Star.

In terms of 鈥減reserving Ph.D. student support,鈥� the allowable expenses include their tuition and stipends, as well as expenses incurred for 鈥渆ssential research supplies and materials to maintain research鈥� and 鈥渃ore facility usage charges.鈥� Additional expenses could also include necessary support staff, such as administrative personnel, post doctoral scholars, and research scientists.

As to how long the bridge funding will last, the page says the funding duration will be 鈥渦p to one semester,鈥� with a maximum of six months.

Evaluations of the applications, to happen monthly, will be based on: dean recommendations; impact of the funds on preserving Ph.D. students鈥� roles; likelihood of securing future funding; applicant鈥檚 track record of extramural funding; and clear evidence that the funding gap is due to delays or disruptions in funding.

鈥淭he bridge funding is a very positive development. But I hope the fights will continue in court to get funds released,鈥� said Lucy Ziurys, a UA professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a faculty senator.

鈥淭he poor treatment of scientific researchers by the current (Trump) administration is shortsighted and will damage our country in the long term,鈥� Ziurys said. 鈥淚t sends a very discouraging message to the younger generations who may be interested in pursuing careers in science and engineering. It鈥檚 hardly a plus to scare off bright young people from scientific technical careers.鈥�