I am in Washington, D.C., this week for the APLU’s Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching meeting. We hold this meeting annually and make multiple trips to D.C. during the year, but things feel different this time, and I don’t think I am alone in that assessment. While our conversations with our partners and delegation of House and Senate members continue through the end of the day, uncertainty is central to each conversation. It is important to share our priorities with a clear, albeit uncomfortable, acknowledgement that everything can’t be a priority.
I appreciate everyone who attended the town hall last Monday to talk about the federal funding situation and outlook. Special thanks to Glynda Becker-Fenter, Kim Christen, and Jake Dowd for leading the conversation. Our guests, and many of our participants, stepped out of a well-attended Board of Regents meeting to join us. While we did not record the town hall meeting, we will hold another if there are major developments. In the meantime, please stay informed through the Office of Research website.
The CAHNRS budget is another topic of great interest to many. We may also have a town hall to discuss that, perhaps in April or May. In the meantime, here’s what I know: The CAHNRS budget hearing with WSU leadership will happen sometime in late April. Every college will be asked to prepare information about how they would manage varying scenarios of permanent state fund reductions coupled with internal reductions. We don’t yet know what those scenario targets will be. I do know that there is no scenario involving a reduction that will not be painful. We have experienced this situation too many consecutive years for this to not be the case. Again, we must prioritize what we do. That is always the easy part. Identifying what we won’t do is the challenge. Upper leadership is working very hard to minimize the state funding changes, particularly given the additional challenges that higher education is facing at the federal level. Things are definitely different this year.
Some key dates include mid-March, when we learn more about the federal budget that is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR). It is unclear if the CR will be extended, if the government will shut down, or if a new budget will be in place (unlikely). Once again, let’s hope we don’t have a shutdown. This timing may help us better understand capacity fund impacts for Extension, ag research, SNAP-Ed, and federal forestry funds in addition to competitive grant programs within USDA. But that could change, too. Between now and May, we are guessing on the state budget and of course working for the best possible outcome. Status quo is an optimistic outlook this year.
If you are in CAHNRS, here’s how you can help: Keep putting your strong impact stories with documented condition changes into Activity Insight! I cannot stress how much we use these stories as we communicate the importance of your work. I use them, the associate deans use them, the government relations team uses them, our Office of Research uses them, and our upper administration leaders use them as they work tirelessly to support the efforts of CAHNRS. If you are a CAHNRS friend or partner, please tell your networks how CAHNRS has made a difference for you and yours. And feel free to share those stories directly with me, too!
It’s different, it’s uncertain, and it’s uncomfortable. It’s an opportunity to think about how we become stronger and have an even greater impact by looking and behaving differently than in the past. We will get through this.