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Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Mike Malone, vice chancellor for research and engagement, sent the following message to UMass Amherst faculty members on Wednesday, March 12, announcing the establishment of a new Research Continuity Emergency (ResCoE) Matching Fund.
 

Dear UMass community,

At the direction of Chancellor Reyes, with support from the offices of the provost, research and engagement, and administration and finance, and through close collaboration with the deans of our schools and colleges, we write to announce the new Research Continuity Emergency (ResCoE) Matching Fund. 

The university’s scholarly and research community is one of our greatest strengths. The vitality and success of this community manifests – among other important dimensions – in the more than $150 million in research expenditures we secure in federal grants and contracts each year. 

These funds support groundbreaking research that contributes to the future prosperity, health, and security of our nation. Under the new federal administration, the continuity of these funds and the promise of discovery and innovation they bring has become uncertain. 

Our highest priority in addressing this uncertainty is to support those community members whose livelihoods are put at risk by the interruption of federal funding: graduate students, postdocs, research staff, and research faculty whose salaries are directly charged to federal grants and contracts. 

We continue our efforts to support our research enterprise in collaboration with our system office and the Massachusetts Attorney General, who, on March 10, obtained a temporary restraining order restoring one of UMass Amherst’s terminated grants.  At the same time, we recognize that the important work of our researchers must continue while these efforts continue to play out. With this in mind, we have diverted funds from strategic investments and deferred maintenance in our areas to create ResCoE.
 

How ResCoE Funds Will be Distributed 

ResCoE funds will provide a one-to-one match for funds that faculty PIs and Co-PIs, departments, schools, and colleges put toward keeping whole our research community. ResCoE funds are available immediately and intended to provide temporary continuity with a projected end date of August 31, 2025. This end date is subject to revision as additional information becomes available.

Requests for matching funds should meet several conditions. ResCoE funds: 

1. Can only be requested in cases where current, active federal grants or contracts have been terminated or interrupted by the federal government or its respective agencies; 
    
2. Can be used only to cover the base salaries of postdocs, research staff, and research faculty, as well as stipends and tuition waivers for graduate research assistants as originally budgeted on the impacted federal grants or contracts. In limited circumstances, critical research expenses outside of salaries may be considered for matching with appropriate justification. 
    
3. Must be matched by PI, Co-PI, department, school, and/or college funds. RTF and other research-related funds are most appropriate for providing matching funds. Faculty, department heads/chairs, and deans are empowered to collaboratively work out internal plans to make funds available for matching. 
    
4. Must be requested using the ResCoE intake form with all requisite approvals. 

Given the magnitude of our research and creative enterprise and the substantial federal support we secure to underwrite it, the ResCoE Matching Fund can only provide temporary relief. We hope our continued collective efforts across campus, the UMass system, and the nation will help achieve sustained relief and bring more certainty to the current situation across higher education as soon as possible. 

We are grateful to all members of our community – students, faculty, staff, and leaders at all levels – for coming together to ensure we keep whole members in our research enterprise who are likely to be directly impacted by interruptions in federal support. We are aware that diverting resources to fund this initiative will necessarily mean less resources are available to address other areas of our work and operations. 

We recognize that other members of the UMass Amherst community also are anxious and feeling vulnerable in the current environment. We acknowledge and share these feelings. We will continue to monitor the evolving federal landscape and engage in planning and collaboration with all our constituents and stakeholders to ensure we remain strong, welcoming, and supportive of all our community members. 

Sincerely,

Fouad Abd-El-Khalick
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Mike Malone
Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement