Grant Disruptions Information, February 12 VPDoR Research Town Hall, Leadership News, Upcoming Events

Dear Chairs and Directors, 

I hope your Winter Quarter is progressing well.  

This newsletter provides updates on the following topics: 

  • Finding information on disruptions to federal grants
  • Next VPDoR Research Town Hall - Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 3:00pm
  • Federal Public Access Policy requirements
  • Leadership updates
  • Upcoming events of note

Updated Information on Grant Disruptions 

A reminder that the Office of Research Administration (ORA) maintains a website with information about disruptions to federal grants. If you or your faculty receive direct contacts from federal officials relevant to grant disruptions, please share them as soon as possible with a research administrator in your department.  

Upcoming VPDoR Research Town Hall

We heard positive feedback about the VPDoR Town Hall series in 2025. The main goal of this series was to provide updates on federally-related research matters, and take questions from faculty and research staff. We will continue the series in 2026, starting next week. Details of the upcoming event appear below. The panel will feature Megan Arleth from Stanford’s Office of Government Affairs who will provide an “Update from Washington” on executive and legislative activity, including the latest on the federal science budgets. 

Town Hall (Webinar)

Thursday, February 12th 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (PT) – JOIN HERE

Webinar ID: 934 0268 4686

Passcode: 624800

You may also submit questions in advance here. 

Federal Public Access Policy Requirements  

Federal agencies are in the process of implementing new policies that require making public outputs of all federally-funded research projects. Information regarding the changes and new requirements is available here. 

VPDoR Leadership updates

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI): Colin Kahl assumed the directorship of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies on January 1, 2026. Colin took the helm from Mike McFaul, who led the Institute with distinction for 11 years. Colin is the Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), and professor of political science (by courtesy). The story on Colin’s appointment is in the Stanford Report.

nano@Stanford: Last September’s merger of Stanford Nano Shared Facilities (SNSF) and the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) created nano@stanford, now the university’s largest shared instrumentation facility. Yuri Suzuki, the Stanley G. Wojcicki Professor Applied Physics in the School of Humanities and Sciences leads the new facility. Yuri describes her exciting vision for nano@stanford in this interesting interview.

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS): Mariano-Florentino “Tino” Cuéllar has been named the Sara Miller McCune Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), effective July 1, 2026. Tino will rejoin the Stanford Law School faculty, and also serve as the Shriram Family Director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program. The story on Tino’s return is in the Stanford Report.  

In addition, new faculty directors have been appointed at three of our independent physical science labs. They will be featured in an upcoming Stanford Report story and a future version of this newsletter.

Upcoming events: 

NSF CAREER Workshop (with Lunch): The Stanford Research Development Office (RDO) will host an in-person NSF CAREER Proposal Workshop on March 3, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in 433A Wallenberg. The NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) supports early-career faculty in developing careers as researchers and educators, with funding over 5 years. This workshop will be geared towards pre-tenure Assistant Professors from any NSF-eligible discipline who are considering a CAREER proposal in the next 1-3 years. For details and registration, go to the RDO workshop page. More information on RDO's services in support of NSF CAREER applicants is available at RDO’s NSF CAREER Program Page.

Funding Fridays Office Hours: The RDO and University Corporate and Foundation Relations, in partnership with SoM grant development services, will host a series of “Funding Fridays” Office Hours this spring. These virtual sessions will offer informal, strategic advice on opportunities for diversifying sponsored research funding. The sessions are drop-in and open to all Stanford researchers with PI status. They will be held on February 27, March 20, and April 24 from 2:00–3:00 p.m. on Zoom. For more information, visit the Funding Fridays Office Hours webpage. 

Please share relevant parts of this letter with anyone in your orbit who may find the information and links helpful. 

 

Stay safe and be well,

David Studdert 

Vice Provost and Dean of Research