Helping UH students affected by funding freezes, executive orders

Michael Fernandez

UH students in action

Students work on important research impacting our community and planet

Students work on important research impacting our community and planet

At the urging of University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel, the UH Foundation is working to raise private donations to support graduate students whose funding has been interrupted due to recent federal executive orders. The foundation launched the Graduate Student Success Fund to provide direct relief to students to help them overcome these financial obstacles, enabling them to continue their education and work in our communities. 

Recent federal executive orders have had many direct and indirect consequences for universities across the U.S., including the University of Hawai‘i. Some graduate students at UH Mānoa and UH Hilo have lost their research funding and educational stipends as a result of stop work orders and freezes on federal grant funds. 

“Given the recent news on funding freezes and internal communications about significant cuts coming to the NSF (National Science Foundation), I and other fellows in the program feel uncertain about future funding from the fellowship,” said Michael Fernandez, a first-year UH Mānoa doctoral student in the botany program. “This is especially concerning for me, as the NSF-GRFP (Graduate Research Fellowship Program) is currently my primary and sole source of funding for my graduate studies.”

“For these students, this sudden financial instability is likely to impose hardship and make the continued pursuit of higher education—let alone meeting immediate needs—very challenging,” Hensel said. “It is critical that we do all we can to ensure that our university graduates, the next generation of talent, desperately needed for Hawai‘i’s workforce. These graduate students are our scientists, doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, engineers, educators and leaders of tomorrow.”

Tim Dolan, UH Foundation CEO said, “We know how much our community cares about UH and our students. Through gifts of all sizes, our neighbors, alumni, business leaders and friends can make a direct and positive impact by supporting our graduate students during this time of unpredictable funding.” 

Learn more about and donate to the Graduate Student Success Fund 

UH’s New federal policy updates and resources page

For more information, visit: http://https://www.uhfoundation.org/give/giving-opportunity/help-uh-grad-st