How Pitt professors respond to national struggles in higher education

Professors at Pitt are adapting to the current political climate in higher education.

Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, federal cuts to research have spurred hiring freezes and put pauses on graduate admissions across the country and at Pitt, sparking a debate on the value of education. Many professors at Pitt have expressed their concerns regarding these changes and how it affects research and students.

NIH funding has been threatened and terminated by the Trump administration, affecting laboratories and universities nationwide. This year, Pitt will see a $183 million decrease in funding from the NIH, which is at least a 25% cut.

Naima Mohammadi, a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, said she fears teaching topics such as LGBTQ+ issues, women’s rights and human rights as an Iranian immigrant.

“The reason I decided to move to the U.S. was a lack of freedom of speech, and in my home country, I couldn’t publish my articles,” Mohammadi said.

Mohammadi said she is self-censoring controversial political topics such as pro-Palestine protests in her classroom to protect Muslim students from political backlash. She also must consider her own status as an immigrant while teaching political topics.

“Every single morning, to be honest with you, when I want to start my work, I have a sense of fear and insecurity in terms of my position as an Iranian scholar,” Mohammadi said. “I constantly reach out to the chair of my program and say ‘How can I secure my position when the political atmosphere is against me, and I am a target of deportation?’” 

Mohammadi also said she lost out on research funds from organizations including the Middle East Studies Association due to federal funding cuts. She applied for two grants from MESA before she reportedly received an email saying the grant would be discontinued.

Mohammadi believes support from her colleagues and the University has been essential for maintaining morale. 

“[The University] wanted immigrant scholars to share their experiences, and they invited us to be around one another for support — so I think community support or colleague support is part of the University plan,” Mohammadi said.

Liann Tsoukas, director of undergraduate studies in the history department and a teaching professor, addressed the stress being placed on universities.

“Let’s be honest, higher education is under attack. It’s being accused of all sorts of things. It’s being accused of indoctrination,” Tsoukas said. “We know that it’s under a spotlight because of that.” 

According to Tsoukas, departments that have not been directly impacted by research cuts are still experiencing negative effects.

“We’re part of a larger ecosystem in the University, and we feel the ripple effect of all of this,” Tsoukas said.

Tsoukas said though her motivation for teaching has never changed, “It has responded to the conditions of the times.”

“What draws me to the classroom is the student experience, student mind, student thinking, student development, and I find it to be completely inspirational to be around that every day,” Tsoukas said.

Takashi Kozai, an associate professor of bioengineering in Swanson School of Engineering, said a handful of engineering research projects at Pitt have been canceled. He also said there has been some University support of canceled research.

“I see [University support] in terms of trying to help graduate students with projects that have shut down because of budget cuts,” Kozai said. 

Kozai expressed concern over grant proposals and the value of submitting proposals amidst funding cuts.

“For grant writing, I think there’s a lot of uncertainty. Is it worth spending 40, 60, 70 hours writing another grant?” Kozai said. 

Kozai mentioned that instead of conducting research, many researchers are now focusing on science communication.

“What we’ve seen is now we have to allocate [more time] towards science communication,” Kozai said.

Lester Lusher, an associate professor of economics, said while budget cuts do not affect his position as a tenured professor, they could have potential ramifications for the growing economics department and student population.

“We [had] this hiring freeze and we can’t hire instructors to meet [the growing] demand. Now, I’m teaching more students than I’ve ever taught before,” Lusher said. “I enjoy it, but if we’re stuck in this period for a longer time with not being able to hire and meet this increased demand, then that’s going to be super stressful.” 

Lusher also expressed concern for the position of international faculty.

“Even if you leave the country, will they be allowed to come back in? So I think that’s probably a margin that causes a lot of fear among faculty. Because obviously you see students who had issues getting back in on their student visa. So why not faculty?” Lusher said.

Anthony Ocepek, a teaching assistant professor and advisor in the department of political science, said he is struggling to find outside funding as he seeks to create a model NATO program at Pitt.

“These [funds] are things that help fund language programs, summer research programs, study abroad opportunities,” Ocepek said. “There is a real pause on that.”

Ocepek said he is focusing on the quality of education he provides for his students.

“We are trying very hard to make sure that we’re still providing, not just the quality of the instruction, quality of programming that we had before, but then additionally, how we can continue to maximize and find new ways for students to be engaged,” Ocepek said.

John Boonstra, a teaching assistant professor in the department of history, discussed how he teaches subjects in history that the Trump administration has challenged, like colonialism and race.

“It is a product of human history and shutting our eyes to it won’t make its consequences go away,” Boonstra said. “I think that the upsurge of xenophobic rhetoric and practices, not only in the past year, but in the past decade, has been deeply troubling and has made our work a lot more important and imperative.”

A quote in this story was edited to accurately reflect the current hiring status at Pitt, which has transitioned from a “hiring freeze” to a “controlled hiring process.” The Pitt News is dedicated to the most accurate representation of news stories.