Federal Transition Task Force end of semester update

Friday, May 16, 2025

As the spring 2025 semester comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect and recap the work of the Federal Transition Task Force since early spring.

When the federal administration officially transitioned in January, the university stood up the task force to review new executive orders and ongoing related federal actions, determine any implications and/or impacts within the university and create guidance and resources — or elevate existing guidance and resources — in support of our students, faculty, staff and community members.

Today, we want to highlight some key outcomes of the task force’s work in collaboration with partners across the institution.

• The task force stood up the Federal Transition website as a resource clearinghouse, including links to ongoing communications, with a particular focus on research implications via Research Weekly.
• Intentional touchpoints with academic leadership, operational units, Faculty Senate and leaders of our Student Governing Association and Graduate Student Council were also maintained throughout the semester to keep the university community apprised of the latest information relevant to their respective areas.
• The Office of the Vice President for Research, in collaboration with partnering units, processed numerous stop-work orders and grant terminations, as well as subsequent appeals and reinstatements. While the university, like many others across the nation, did inevitably experience grant terminations, there have been many reversals to those initial actions that speak to the resilience of our community and the recognition among top congressional leaders and agency partners as to the importance of our work. Most recently, the Climate Resilient Cereals Innovation Lab resumed its critical work to breed more heat-, drought-, insect- and disease-resistant crops — work that aims to contribute to increased prosperity among farmers and agricultural producers.
• As the uncertainty of federal research funding persisted, the Office of the Vice President for Research continued to advise the K-State research community to submit grant proposals — and you answered that call. As of the end of April 2025, K-State had submitted 1,284 proposals, requesting $482.2 million in research funding to advance our state, nation and world.
• Our international community has felt much uncertainty during this transition, which is why the university reaffirmed existing guidance around immigration and deportation, as well as carried out a clear, FERPA-compliant process to assist students who may have had questions in regard to their visa or SEVIS statuses. We wish to extend much gratitude to International Student and Scholar Services for its tremendous work supporting our international students, faculty and staff, now and always.
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, or DEIA, has also been a topic that has stretched across agency guidance in the research realm, as well as more broadly via the Dear Colleague letter issued on Feb. 14 and the follow-up Frequently Asked Questions The task force has offered guidance upon request as members of our community have worked to interpret these federal directives — and we continue to answer those questions as they arise.

As the federal landscape continues to evolve, we recognize that in some ways, there is a natural convergence with the close of the state legislative session just weeks ago. We find ourselves on the brink of a new fiscal year that bolsters significant legislative investment from the state of Kansas — and for that, we are ever-grateful. With that investment also comes new state requirements in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, space. Given the intersection of DEIA directives at the federal level and a budget proviso with DEI specifications at the state level, the task force now finds itself in a place of reconciling those directives to offer additional guidance to our community if ultimately warranted. We anticipate that if any additional operational clarifications or guidance is required following that reconciliation process, it will be shared in the coming weeks.

As we look to reconcile those directives, it is important to remember that Kansas State University has always stood against discrimination in all forms and thus reaffirms its support of access and opportunity for all, regardless of race, color, national origin or any other characteristic or identity that defines any member of our community.

In closing, we recognize that change in and of itself always brings uncertainty and sometimes, more questions than answers. We want to thank the university community at large for its patience and resilience. Since its inception, this task force has operated under a promise of issuing timely and updated guidance as it is confirmed with and verified by federal sources. Taking heedless action or operating reactively serves no one during times of uncertainty. Proactive, measured and informed work was our goal — and while we recognize that meant you sometimes had to wait longer than you wanted for official guidance, we hope that by operating as such, we have offered enduring clarity, guidance and resources that will serve you now and into the future.

We will continue to serve you with that core promise guiding future endeavors.