Incoming RIT president reflects on uncertainty over federal funding after freeze

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Incoming RIT president reflects on uncertainty over federal funding after freeze

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – William Sanders, a current dean at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering, will officially take over the helm as the new president of the Rochester Institute of Technology come July.

RIT announced his appointment on the same day that the Trump administration put a freeze on federal funding, a measure that a judge has since temporarily blocked. The funding freeze would have impacted every single agency, college, and nonprofit that gets federal funding.

The change in leadership at RIT comes at an uncertain time for a lot of colleges and universities. News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke spoke with the incoming president.

Jennifer Lewke, News10NBC: “How do you move forward with that uncertainty not knowing what’s going to be available funding-wise for your students for your staff for your campus for your research?”

William Sanders, Incoming RIT President: “We have an excellent team here and our focus is on education not politics, but we absolutely have to be aware of what’s going on. So I know at RIT here and at my other school, we are doing the same thing. We are very carefully analyzing, watching what will happen and we’re going to be an advocate for a higher education.”

Colleges and universities are only one subset of people who are unsure how the federal freeze in funding will impact them both short and long-term. Rep. Joe Morelle said his phone has been ringing off the hook all day.

“If this is paused indefinitely, that could mean the closure of Lifespan and I’ve heard this morning from the CEOs of a number of large institutions in our community,” Morelle said

At the moment, the congressman is still trying to get a handle on what might happen from here.

“In our constitution, the power of the purse is held in the United States Congress,” he said. “So my fellow appropriates, and the senate appropriates, we are the ones who design expenditures of the federal government, and the president signs the appropriation bills, but the president has very limited ability to unilaterally decide what to do.”

The president’s memo says agencies are supposed to review grants, loans, and programs to ensure that they align with the new administration’s priorities.

“We are talking about hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars and this not only affects the recipients of programs like lifespan and others,” Morelle said. “Their staff won’t get paid. And when their staff doesn’t get paid, it’s really hard to pay your mortgage. So, banks are going to be impacted by people who aren’t paying their mortgages. And if an agency did a capital project and has to pay for a new roof or a new furnace that was installed, and they don’t have the funding, that means the small business that put that improvement in place isn’t gonna get paid. So I don’t think the president has an idea of what he has done here.”

Sanders says he’s keeping a close eye on the situation in Washington and how it will impact his students, staff, campus, and research.

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