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.”
See also:
» UH’s new federal policy updates and resources page
Your generosity makes a lasting impact on our students, faculty, and community. Join us in supporting this important work.
FOR UH • FOR HAWAIʻI, The Campaign for the University of Hawaiʻi, is focused on raising $1 billion to support UH priorities on all 10 campuses across the state, including student success; research that matters; kuleana to Native Hawaiians and Hawaiʻi; sustainability, resilience and conservation; innovation and entrepreneurship; building Hawaiʻi’s workforce; and engaging our community. Learn more at uhfoundation.org/4UH4HI
Questions? / More Information
If you would like to learn how you can support UH students and programs like this, please contact us at 808 376-7800 or send us a message.
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The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. The mission of the University of Hawai‘i Foundation is to unite donors’ passions with the University of Hawai‘i’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawai‘i and our future generations. uhfoundation.org
