Compiled by SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
Alabama universities and community organizations have lost more than $15 million in federal funding following a recent wave of grant cancellations tied to an executive order by former President Donald Trump. The move is part of a broader crackdown on funding for programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
The losses follow an earlier $35 million reduction in university funding, as the administration targeted research grants deemed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. According to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the latest round of cuts, finalized in late April, aims to save taxpayers nearly $15.7 million.
Institutions Affected by the Cuts:
Tuskegee University
• $4,999,999 cut: Climate-smart agroforestry market expansion in Alabama, Virginia, and Maryland.
• $4,081,137 cut: Climate-smart sheep and goat farming in Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.
• $75,000 cut: Infrastructure development for organic agriculture.
• $50,000 cut: Professional Agricultural Workers Conference.
• $25,000 cut: Genetic improvement symposium for small-scale beef producers in the Southeast.
Auburn University
• $650,000 cut: Research on their property and land accessibility improvements.
Alabama A&M University
• $249,999 cut: Climate change research.
• $40,612 cut: Outreach to diverse forestry professionals.
• $360,000 cut: Fire apprenticeship program.
Selma Center for Nonviolence
• $1,999,574 cut: Funding for the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI), which addressed systemic violence in underserved Selma communities.
South-Central Alabama Mental Health Board Inc.
• $550,000 cut: Mental health services funding.
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
• $2.8 million cut: Minority Business Development Agency Capital Readiness Program, which aimed to support disadvantaged entrepreneurs. (DOGE did not list savings for this grant.)
AL.com’s efforts to contact representatives from the impacted colleges, the Selma Center for Nonviolence, and the Mental Health Board were unsuccessful. However, the media reported that Mobile Chamber Communications Director Denise Curtis confirmed the loss of the $2.8 million grant but declined further comment.
