(UPDATED, 7:05 p.m., to correct date of Lewis-Clark State College’s founding.)

Federal budget cuts will affect the University of Idaho’s research programs, university President C. Scott Green said Wednesday morning.

“We are seeing cuts,” Green told State Board of Education members as they gathered at the U of I campus for two days of meetings. “It’s unclear to us how much we may be impacted at this point.”

Minutes later, some of the impacts came into sharper focus. The U of I issued a news release saying the largest federal grant in university history was now on hold.

Here’s what’s happening with the U of I grant, and Wednesday’s State Board news.

A $59 million grant in limbo

The U.S. Department of Agriculture grant is designed to pilot climate-friendly farming practices in Idaho. The U of I’s $59 million was supposed to come from a national program, dubbed Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.

The U of I was awarded the grant in 2022.

And at least some of the federal money could go out to Idaho farmers. As of last month, the U of I had received 201 applications from growers in 27 counties. Several growers have already been enrolled in the program, and others are in the final stages of filling out their paperwork, the U of I said in a news release Wednesday.

Labeling the program a “Biden era climate slush fund,” the Agriculture Department put the entire initiative on hold this week. But the feds said they would honor all eligible expenses incurred before Sunday.

And the U of I will have a chance to reapply for the grant, to meet Trump administration guidelines. The White House wants at least 65% of the money to go directly to producers. Under the U of I’s original plan, more than 50% of the money was earmarked for growers.

“The rest of the grant, excluding direct administrative costs, (was) intended to provide technical and marketing services to enrolled producers — saving them the cost of contracting those services independently,” the U of I said in a news release Wednesday.

The U of I is in a “good position” to reconfigure its program to meet the new federal guidelines, said Sanford Eigenbrode, the co-director of the university’s Innovative Agriculture and Marketing Partnership program.

The new application deadline is June 20.

Green: U of I’s federal funding likely to decrease

The uncertainties about federal funding come as the U of I is touting two big research milestones. Last year, the university’s research funding hit a record $140 million. And in February, the U of I became the first Idaho university to receive the coveted “R1” research status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The R1 status could allow the U of I to compete for larger federal research grants.

Green touted both accomplishments Wednesday, as he delivered the U of I’s annual report to the State Board. But his message was tempered.

The U of I has already lost funding it would have received from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Green said. The U of I is just starting to see cuts in Agricultural Department funding, he said.

The U of I’s federal grants will probably decrease next year, he said. Green said he is “hopeful” that the U of I can figure out how to mitigate the losses. But he noted that some of the federal cuts could affect paid research internships for undergraduate students. “That’s what worries me the most.”

‘(We’re) not in the speculation business’

In contrast, state superintendent Debbie Critchfield offered a more optimistic view of federal funding in K-12.

Critchfield said she does not expect any cuts this school year, leaving full funding intact for special education and Title I programs for low-income schools. She is telling local school leaders to fill positions as needed, but to remain cautious.

The federal funding picture remains a “day-to-day conversation” in Critchfield’s Idaho Department of Education, but she said the department is responding only to direct notifications from Uncle Sam.

“We are deliberately and intentionally not in the speculation business,” Critchfield told her State Board colleagues.

Critchfield remains bullish about the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. She expects the feds to be much more open to providing states with waivers — providing more spending flexibility, or relaxing federal rules that govern required student tests.

In that vein, Critchfield suggested a homework assignment for board members. “Come back ready to dream about what the assessment landscape looks like.”

Lewis-Clark State … University? Board OK’s name change

The State Board unanimously approved changing the moniker of Idaho’s lone four-year public college.

Lewis-Clark State College officials say the name no longer fits their Lewiston-based school. They say the name creates confusion with the state’s four two-year schools — all designated as colleges. And they say a “university” label aligns with LC State’s peer institutions, and would allow LC State to better compete in a changing higher ed market.

LC State officials said their school would stay in its lane in Idaho higher ed, offering a publicly funded small campus option.

“This moniker change does not have any impact on our mission or scope,” Provost Fred Chilson told State Board members.

LC State President Cynthia Pemberton noted that accreditors and the State Board would have to approve any mission or scope changes.

“It wouldn’t even be possible, if we wanted to flip a switch on it,” she said.

The State Board doesn’t get the last word on this move. Since the new name would require a change in Idaho Code, lawmakers would have to approve the move next session.

This would be LC State’s fourth name change since its founding in 1893. It has been known as Lewis-Clark State College since 1971.

‘History does not care about feelings’

Wednesday marked the first State Board meeting since the end of the 2024 legislative session.

And several speakers criticized a far-reaching anti-DEI law — which the Senate passed the morning of April 4, and Gov. Brad Little signed into law that afternoon.

Speakers urged the State Board to push back against Senate Bill 1198, which bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices and officers and the use of DEI principles in hiring and admissions. While SB 1198 only bans required DEI courses, several speakers called the law a threat to academic freedom.

“It allows some people to feel comfortable at the expense of others,” said Rebecca Scofield, a U of I history professor, who said she was speaking on her own behalf. “History does not care about feelings.”

Nick Koenig — a U of I doctoral student and climate change instructor — criticized both the Legislature and the State Board.

Koenig said SB 1198 creates “a hyper-hostile teaching environment” that will make it impossible to teach climate change.

Koenig last fall criticized a State Board resolution banning DEI-based student centers — a December decision that predated the legislative session. Koenig said they decided to attend the U of I after consulting with the now-defunct LGBTQ student center. Now, Koenig plans to leave U of I a year early, and fears other students will be driven away as well.

Check back Thursday for additional State Board meeting coverage.