Board of Trustees discusses potential federal funding impacts

Dylan Pichnarcik / THE GATEPOST

By Sophia Oppedisano Editorial Staff The Board of Trustees discussed how changes to federal funding will impact the University, the closure of the International Education Program, and an amendment to the Danforth Founding Agreement at its March 26 meeting. Both President Nancy Niemi and Vice President of Administration, Finance, and Technology Robert Totino provided updates on actions taken by the federal government that may have an impact on higher education, including in the areas of student loans, civil-rights enforcement, and data collection.

Niemi said the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is joining forces with other state attorneys general to file an appeal and an injunction against the closure of the Department of Education. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell co-led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general “in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction as part of their lawsuit to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education,” according to mass.gov March 24. This lawsuit follows President Donald Trump’s executive order directing the closure of the department and the immediate transferring out of student loan management and special education resources, according to mass.gov. According to Niemi, the University has “not felt any impact of these actions that were taken, but we're paying very close attention.” Niemi said if federal student loans are transferred from the Department of Education to the Small Business Administration, “That is a highly complicated set of loans that need to be dispersed and acted on that would be transferred to a new place, which would have implications for many students around the country - including ours.” She also noted “speculative” trickle-down effects, including the issue of redirected civil-rights enforcement and data collection. Totino said, “It's been a very tumultuous time with the presidency as far as many of the actions that they have taken since the inauguration.” He added the University is “closely following” how those actions will affect the Framingham State community. According to Totino, the University receives $25 million in annual federal funding, 80% of which is student financial aid. “Everything we've heard is that, in the Department of Education, that is not on the table. That falls in line with other areas, such as Social Security,” Totino said. The Business Office is working closely with “principal investigators” on campus who are communicating with necessary departments on a weekly basis, including the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). “Everything they're hearing is positive at the present time,” Totino said. “We hope that will run its course through the end of this fiscal year, and then we'll see how that impacts budgeting for FY 2026,” he added. Trustee Lino Covarrubias provided a report for the Student Experience Committee detailing the committee’s recent conversations concerning students’ mental health. Covarrubias commended the Counseling Center for the work it does on campus and cited a campus survey in which students said access to mental health services aided them in being successful at Framingham State. “I think the ability for the University to provide easy access to mental health services is really important, not only for recruitment, because the word does get out, but also retention and persistence to keep students here,” he said. Covarrubias also noted a committee discussion about students’ basic needs, including food and housing insecurity. Many students qualify to use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal food stamp program that Covarrubias said will most likely be taking cuts in the near future. “Here at the University, three out of five students are experiencing some sort of food or housing insecurity, which is about 59%. When you add mental health, childcare, transportation, and tech access, it increases to 73%,” Covarrubias said. “We'll have to really consider when those cuts do come, and they will come, how that's going to affect our students. … I think the University is really on the forefront of all these when it comes to mental health and basic needs, but I think the needs will increase, and we have to really be on top of that,” he added. Niemi updated the Board on the closing of the International Education Program. Niemi said there is a signed articulation agreement with Fitchburg State University that outlines a teach-out plan for the Master's Education in International Teaching and Educational Leadership Program. The students who will be displaced because of these program closures “are all international students taking courses in different countries through these programs, and all of them are online,” Niemi said. Niemi added NECHE and the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education have been made aware of the program closures and have approved the teach-out plans. “Some of the students in the programs are unhappy with these decisions. We have addressed their concerns to the extent possible, and we are assured that we've helped as many as we can complete the programs that they can, and provided a pathway to completion with the others,” Niemi said. Niemi provided an update on the Stearns Reservoir Project and alerted the Board that the University has decided “after looking at risks and benefits” to terminate its involvement as the lead partner for the project. Framingham State filed documentation with the state in 2018 and 2024 to use the Stearns Reservoir, located a half mile from campus, as a public resource for the University. Niemi said she and Jeffery Coleman, vice president for diversity, inclusion, and community engagement, met with the Nipmuc tribe to let them know the University would no longer be involved in the project. She added the tribe was “very happy that we talked to them and they understood why we did not feel like we could go through with it.” Niemi noted an assignment and amendment to the Danforth Founding Agreement in which “the Danforth Art Alliance's (DAA) responsibilities will become assigned to the Framingham State University Foundation. The Danforth Art Alliance board members will become voting members of the Danforth Art Center Advisory Board (DACAB).” All of the funds from the Danforth Art Alliance, an amount not exceeding $5,000, will go to the Framingham State Foundation for Danforth use only, Niemi said. All three parties, the DAA, DCAB, and the Framingham State Foundation, all voted separately to approve the change to the founding agreement and the Board of Trustees was the last approval needed to pass the amendment. The amendment passed unanimously. The Board voted on their slate of officers for AY 2025-26. The Board unanimously voted to reinstate Anthony Hubbard as chair and Claire Ramsbottom as vice chair.