Update on Federal Agency Activities, VPDoR Leadership and RPH changes
Dear Chairs and Directors,
Welcome to the Spring quarter! This month, I’m sharing updates on three topics:
- Federal agency activities & April 3rd Town Hall
- FSI and CASBS leadership searches
- Changes to PI eligibility and COI/COC policies
Please share relevant parts of this letter with your faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students—anyone who may find the information and links helpful.
Ongoing Federal Agency activities
I hope you have had the opportunity to attend one of the “research update” town halls held across campus over the last few weeks. The goal of these sessions is to share what we know about the ongoing disruptions and threats to research and answer your questions as best we can.
Stanford research continues apace. Nearly all current federal awards are receiving their funding at awarded levels, and many new grant proposals are being submitted. But we are experiencing some bumps. We have received termination notices on a handful of grants in the last couple of weeks, primarily NIH grants. While the numbers remain relatively low for now, they are likely to rise. Additionally, notifications of new awards have slowed, especially from NIH. Our peers are experiencing these same disruptions. Some termination notices, stop work orders, or other project-related notices are being sent directly to principal investigators. In the event your faculty receive one, forward it as soon as possible to osr_notifications@stanford.edu.
We will be providing more details on these and other developments on Thursday, April 3rd, at the next VPDoR Town Hall. Faculty and staff working in research are invited to join. Below are the details:
VPDoR “Research Update” Town Hall
Thursday, April 3, 2025
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Panelists: David Studdert, Vice Provost and Dean of Research; Ruth O’Hara, Senior Associate Dean for Research, School of Medicine; Russell Brewer, Associate Vice President of Research Administration; Chantal Morgan D'Apuzzo, Senior University Counsel; Megan Arleth, Assistant Vice President, Office of Government Affairs. The discussion will be moderated by Jodi Prochaska, Senior Associate Vice Provost for Clinical Research Governance.
I want to express deep thanks to the teams in our schools and central offices working tirelessly to respond to the disruptions we are experiencing. Their devotion, tenacity, and calm are inspiring.
I also encourage you to check out our research-developments website from time to time, where we are posting information on the latest developments. If you’d like more, the Council on Government Relations (COGR) maintains a helpful information feed, as does the Association of American Universities (AAU).
Leadership Updates in VPDoR
I am very pleased to welcome Guido Imbens, Applied Econometrics Professor and Professor of Economics, as the incoming faculty director of Stanford Data Science (SDS). Guido started April 1st, succeeding SDS’s inaugural faculty director, Emmanuel Candès. Emmanuel’s vision and hard work launched SDS; Guido is the right leader to take it into its next chapter. You can read more about the transition on the SDS website.
Important searches are underway to identify the next faculty directors for the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS). Ken Shultz, William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science, is chairing the FSI search committee. Ran Abramitzky, Senior Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, is co-chairing the CASBS search alongside CASBS board chair Abby Smith Rumsey. If you have perspectives to share, candidate recommendations, or questions for either search, please contact Kristi Geerke.
Policy Updates: RPH 2.1 (PI Eligibility exceptions), 4.1(CoI/CoC), and 4.3 (External Consulting activities)
Last month, the Faculty Senate approved revisions to research policies governing PI eligibility (RPH 2.1) and conflicts of interest and commitments (RPH 4.1 & 4.3).
The main changes to the PI eligibility policy involve making permanent ongoing pilot programs that extend PI eligibility to specific categories of investigators within the School of Medicine, SLAC, and shared facilities. Also, to reduce administrative burden and improve efficiency, several changes were made to the approval procedures for PI eligibility. Note, in particular, that department chairs will have more delegated authority to approve certain PI eligibility exceptions going forward.
The main change to our conflict of interest/commitment policies relates to use of the Stanford “rider”, a disclosure faculty are required to make to external entities when they engage in outside work. For questions about these changes, please contact Kathie Kern (RPH 2.1) or Cindy Kiel (RPH 4.1 and 4.3).
Best,
David
David Studdert
Vice Provost and Dean of Research