Research breakthroughs often come through collaborations − attacks on academic freedom threaten this vital work

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Volha Chykina , University of Richmond ; David P. Baker , Penn State ; Frank Fernandez , University of Wisconsin-Madison , and Justin J.W. Powell , University of Luxembourg

(THE CONVERSATION) Since President Donald Trump took office for the second time, many researchers across academic disciplines have had their funding cut because of their purported ideological bias . These funding cuts were further exacerbated by the extensive 2025 government shutdown .

As a team of sociologists studying universities , higher education policy and administration , academic freedom and science production , we recognized these cuts as part of a recent global trend