When universities suffer, everyone loses
Undergraduate Association (UA) President Alice Hall and former UA President Enoch Ellis argue that if “universities are starved of funding, the result will be catastrophic”
The United States has long prided itself on being a nation of innovation. Until recently, our federal spending reflected this vision. The current administration is changing that.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) serves as a critical source of research funding across the nation. By providing grants to private companies, universities, hospitals, and other research institutions, the NIH has enabled life-changing and life-saving developments that extend far beyond the labs they fund.
Although it can be hard to predict how work in highly specialized labs ever makes it to the doors of the average American, everything from the ways we grow food to the ways we care for our aging parents has been improved by research funded by the NIH. While the end goal of some research is immediately clear, the significance of other projects may only emerge over time. Take well-known drugs such as Ozempic and synthetic insulin: without NIH support in early development stages — before substantial private capital got involved — these life-changing medications would not have been possible.
Recent shifts in government perspective have questioned the value of basic research across all scientific disciplines and brought an abrupt halt to important projects. Research to prevent strokes and heart disease: terminated. Work to further understand and prevent obesity: canceled. Efforts to save millions of Americans fighting against cancer: slashed. And with proposed 40% cuts, this is just the beginning.
In the past decade alone, NIH funding has generated almost $800 billion in returns. According to a 2025 report, the $36.94 billion awarded by the NIH to researchers across all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. supported over 400,000 jobs. But now, this research is at risk. Despite seeing economic returns of $2.56 for every dollar spent, chaotic efforts to cut inefficient government spending have put the NIH in the crosshairs.
We must understand that the economic and strategic leverage the U.S. enjoys today was not achieved by accident. It came from deliberate investment in research. If we become complacent, we will lose it. No matter what issues people may have with universities, there are better solutions that won’t harm millions of Americans as collateral damage.
As MIT students, we’ve seen the impact our university has on the rest of the country. It's estimated that since 2014, MIT alumni have launched roughly 30,200 active companies that employ 4.6 million people and generate $1.9 trillion in annual revenues. These benefits ripple through the economy, from small business owners in every state all the way to us as consumers. These returns help boost GDP and decrease the deficit, making them a worthwhile investment.
This story is not unique to MIT. In 2023, the Michigan University Research Corridor added over 81,000 jobs and contributed nearly $24 billion to the state economy. The University of Alabama System is the state’s largest employer with roughly 67,000 employees and an economic impact of $18.6 billion annually. Over the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the University of South Florida generated $14.07 in economic impact from every dollar of state funding.
It's these direct economic returns, coupled with the impacts of innovation, that have allowed America to be as dominant as we are. It’s no surprise that the United States ranks first in global GDP and leads the world in many advanced technological sectors.
If our universities are starved of funding, the result will be catastrophic. Our innovation infrastructure will be devastated; our technological competitiveness with rivals like China will wane. Our nation’s ability to respond to current issues such as declining birth rates or the obesity epidemic will be limited, and our ability to respond to any unprecedented future crises will be compromised. So we call on everyone to reject the notion that research is negotiable, because even though current research cuts are being drawn along partisan lines, their impact won’t be.
At the time of writing, the White House has seemingly backpedaled in freezing over $15 billion in NIH funding after initially putting a block on any new grants or grants up for renewal.
We must remind ourselves — and our leaders — that the level of innovation that safeguards American health, economic prosperity, and international influence is not guaranteed. Public and private colleges are united in opposition to these policies that will cripple the American enterprise, and we urge you to do the same. The question is not whether universities deserve support, but whether we can afford to forsake them.
Enoch Ellis ’26 was UA President during the 2024-2025 academic year. Alice Hall ’26 is UA President for the 2025-2026 academic year.