The goal of the University Research Workforce Tracker is to gather public information about layoffs, hiring freezes, and related personnel actions—resulting from cuts to federal funding—that affect individuals involved in academic research. The tracker also includes information about the closure or reduction of graduate programs that train future generations of scholars, as well as institutional budget cuts that could impact people involved in research activities. Money is fungible, and university budgets face financial pressures from all sides, but the tracker includes entries only if the institution attributes their actions at least in part to cuts, cancellations, and uncertainty about federal research awards.
At launch, the tracker is populated with data on Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions, which include the nation’s largest research universities. We will continue to expand its scope in the months to include the full spectrum of US research universities. To ensure that the resource is as comprehensive and up-to-date as possible, we encourage submission of new entries by those using the tracker. Users can propose new entries by clicking this submit entry link here or in the upper left corner of the tracker, where they can create a spreadsheet entry that follows the format of the tracker. Submissions must include a link to where information in the proposed entry can be publicly found, and will only be published following review by Ithaka S+R staff to ensure the proposed entry meets the specific criteria for the tracker’s scope as described above and on the submission form.
Read more about our work on the tracker on our blog. Questions? Please contact us.