Trump Administration’s funding cuts end University of Hawaiʻi program for women in geosciences

A program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa that supported dozens of career development activities for women in geosciences and community outreach was terminated by the loss of federal funding, according to a news release from the university.

In April, Barbara Bruno, project lead and faculty member at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the university, was given a termination notice with instructions to immediately close operations on the program funded by the National Science Foundation.

About two-thirds of the nearly $200,000 budget was forfeited when the grant was terminated.

Bruno said UH’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology was the state’s largest producer of geoscience graduates, with “alumni who go on to monitor volcanic hazards, predict extreme weather, conduct assessments of environmental impacts, ensure sustainable use of Hawaiʻi’s freshwater resources and more.”

Bruno added: “I think the biggest impact of this termination is the loss of professional development opportunities for women. STEM is hemorrhaging women. We need programs to keep them.”

The National Science Foundation award supported a mini-grant program, Catalyst Awards for Science Advancement, that funded geoscience workforce development in two ways: outreach and community engagement to attract the next generation of STEM professionals; and professional development for current School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology students and early career scientists.

Through the mini-grants program, female students, post-doctoral researchers, staff and faculty submitted applications to secure funding to attend professional meetings, technical or career development workshops; or engage in field work or research collaborations.

For example, this project supported activities of a co-writing group for women in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and multiple student-oriented groups focused on diversity, equity and inclusion within UH.

The federal funding cut also resulted in terminating two months of Bruno’s salary and several mini-grants that were in process, the university said.

Funding also was pulled from a Palauan graduate student who is pursuing her doctoral degree in the Marine Biology Graduate Program and studying the unique and diverse coral communities of Ngermid Bay in the Republic of Palau.

The successfully completed outreach and community engagement efforts supported by this program include training for middle school teachers in ocean engineering; and workshops, hands-on activities, and presentations to community members and middle and high school students that focused on deep-sea ecology and volcanoes.

“We were also actively soliciting applications for the next round of [Catalyst Awards for Science Advancement] funding when we received the termination notice,” said Bruno. “Ending this grant eliminates the support for future professional development opportunities and K–12 and community engagement.”

On May 28, Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez and 15 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop illegal attempts to cut critical National Science Foundation programs and funding that help maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in STEM.

Bruno submitted a declaration in support of this federal lawsuit, attesting to the adverse impacts of the sudden termination of her National Science Foundation grant. Bruno is actively pursuing alternative funding sources to support these initiatives.