Milestones in Motion

September 16 – UC SOS coalition and unions file lawsuit over UCLA cut, and “Hands Off Our UC” rally at Regents meeting (Source: LA Times) 

• “Hands Off Our UC” drew students, staff, faculty, and community members to the William J. Rutter Center to defend academic freedom, public education, and healthcare, and to oppose the proposed settlement terms. Sponsors included AFSCME 3299, AAUP, CNA, CUCFA, Teamsters Local 2010, UAW 4811, UC-AFT Local 1474, UCLA FA, and UPTE-CWA 9119.

• The LA Times reported that twenty-one unions and faculty associations representing 100,000+ UC employees filed suit in federal court, alleging the administration used financial coercion and violated constitutional and administrative law by suspending grants and seeking a $1.2B fine from UCLA. The complaint argues the demands threaten academic freedom, clinical care, jobs, and UC’s research mission across the 10-campus system. Read an archived version here.

September 15 – UCLA FA $1B settlement transparency suit (Source: LA Times), LA Times report on DOJ proposal (Source: LA Times), and UC President systemwide alert (Source: UCLA) 

• The LA Times reported that UC President James B. Milliken cautioned that UCLA’s $1.2B fine and sweeping demands are minor compared with potential actions across all 10 campuses and health systems; meanwhile, the UCLA Faculty Association filed a Public Records Act suit to obtain the full federal settlement proposal so faculty, lecturers, staff, students, and the public can review what’s being negotiated and assess impacts on research, teaching, and clinical care, as the SOS Coalition joined unions planning protests ahead of Regents meetings to defend academic freedom, clinical freedom, and the UC public good. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

• The LA Times published a detailed review of DOJ’s 28-page proposal outlining a nearly $1.2B fine and broad policy demands tied to releasing suspended NIH and DOE grants. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

• UC President James B. Milliken warned the UC community that more than $17B in annual federal support is at stake, calling this one of the gravest threats in UC’s 157-year history with potential impacts on labs, classrooms, healthcare access, and jobs. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

September 14 – LA Times Front Page: UCLA Puts Federal Cuts on Display with Science Fairs (Source: LA Times), Cancer Research System Under Threat (Source: The New York Times Magazine), and Gov. Gavin Newsom Pushes Back on Funding Cuts to UCLA (Source: Daily Bruin)

• The Los Angeles Times featured UCLA’s “Science Fair for Suspended Research” on A1, spotlighting how frozen grants are disrupting basic research, clinical studies, and student training. The coverage amplified community calls to defend academic and clinical freedom and restore funding that sustains California’s innovation economy. Read a copy here.

• A deep-dive from the New York Times Magazine reports that sweeping federal cuts and disruptions are undermining the nation’s cancer-research engine at a moment of major progress, with canceled grants, delayed reviews, and proposed NCI budget and overhead reductions stalling labs, pausing trials, and risking long-term losses in talent and innovation. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

• The Daily Bruin reported that Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly urged UC not to “sell its soul,” signaling support for legal action over frozen grants and a proposed $1B settlement. More than 170 UC law faculty backed litigation in a letter, and UC leadership is reviewing options. The piece underscores growing political attention and reinforces the case for court-based remedies to protect research, teaching, and clinical care. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

September 13 – Lawmakers Propose $23B Research Bond (Source: New York Times)

• California legislators unveiled a plan to backfill federal cuts by creating a state engine for science funding. Authored by Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember José Luis Solache Jr., the proposal would place a $23 billion bond (SB-607 California Science and Health Research Bond Act) on the 2026 ballot to fund grants and loans for universities, research firms, and health systems. It needs a legislative supermajority to qualify and then voter approval, and is framed as a California backstop to NIH and NSF in response to deep federal reductions, including the roughly $584 million freeze at UCLA. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

September 12 – UCLA FA Science Fair for Suspended Research Shows Off Science Cuts Under Trump (Source: LAist and LA Times) 

• LAist reported on UCLA’s Science Fair for Suspended Research, organized with UAW 4811, where researchers and trainees walked visitors through paused projects (from pediatric sarcoma T-cell therapies to Alzheimer’s work), emphasizing how freezes set labs back years and noting that, while a court restored NSF awards, many NIH grants remain on hold. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

• LA Times reported on UCLA’s Science Fair for Suspended Research, where faculty and trainees used vivid demos, including a preserved human brain, to show the human and scientific costs of frozen grants, explain paused projects and training, and note ongoing court efforts to restore funding. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here and watch the video here. 

September 11 – UAW 4811 Science Fair for Canceled Research

• A second evening campus fair, hosted by UAW 4811 with UCLA FA and BRI partners at Rolfe Courtyard from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., brought community members, trainees, and faculty together to showcase paused projects, discuss impacts on labs, clinics, and education, and crowdsource next steps to sustain research and training.

September 10 – Open Letter to Governor Newsom and UCLA FA & BRI Science Fair for Suspended Research

• Concerned Californians and the Save Our Science initiative launched an open letter urging up to $1 billion in emergency state funding, a meeting to co-develop near and long term solutions including the California Futures Fund, and coordinated legal action with the Regents to challenge ongoing federal grant suspensions, noting that about $500 million remains frozen despite $84 million reinstated and highlighting risks to research, teaching, and public service.

• That same day, the UCLA Faculty Association and the UCLA Brain Research Institute hosted the midday Science Fair for Suspended Research at Westwood & Le Conte (11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.), making the human and scientific stakes visible and inviting co-design of next steps. Roughly 55 presenters shared posters across disciplines, and an estimated 150 to 200 people attended. Among those present were Ambar Quintanilla, district representative for State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, Naomi Riley, outreach director for Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Karen Calderon, senior field representative for Assemblymember Isaac Bryan. Their engagement connected research stories to policy conversations in real time and reinforced a just culture approach to transparency, restorative practice, and continuous improvement.

September 4 – UC Warns Systemwide Risk from Federal Funding Cuts (Source: LA Times)

• UC President James B. Milliken told legislators that suspended grants at UCLA now exceed $500 million and that additional federal cuts could affect the entire 10-campus system. He noted the government is seeking a $1.2 billion payment and estimated UC would need $4–5 billion per year to offset lost federal support, with potential impacts on jobs, research, teaching, and patient care. Lawmakers urged UC to resist unlawful demands as negotiations continue. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

September 3 – West Coast Health Alliance Announced (Source: CA Governor Gavin Newsom)

• California, Oregon, and Washington launched a regional Health Alliance to keep vaccine and public health guidance grounded in science, not politics. State health leaders will align evidence-based immunization recommendations, center transparency and access, and coordinate with trusted medical organizations to restore public trust after federal actions weakened CDC credibility. The states affirmed Tribal sovereignty and will publish shared principles in the coming weeks so residents receive consistent, research-driven guidance across the West Coast. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

September 2 – UC SOS Coalition Launch

• Faculty, lecturers, students, staff, alumni, and community partners formed the UC SOS Coalition to defend academic freedom, clinical freedom, and the UC public good. We stand against any agreement with the federal government that will have adverse consequences for employment, healthcare access, the diversity of our community members, student speech, and academic freedom at the UC. Join the movement and learn more about the UC SOS Coalition and CUCFA here.

August 30 – UC Faculty Propose California Futures Fund (Source: Daily Bruin)

• UC faculty and the Save Our Science initiative unveiled a multi-billion, state-level fund to stabilize UC research, teaching, and community service during federal freezes and to strengthen long term independence. The plan pairs short term bridge financing from UC resources with a long term state revenue source, builds on meetings with Senator Scott Wiener and the framework of SB 829, and is designed to uphold academic and clinical freedom while retaining early-career researchers. As litigation proceeds, including the Aug. 12 order restoring about $81 million in NSF grants, the fund would act as a firewall against disruptions to science and care. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here.

August 28 – Community Meeting: Learning from Columbia

• Participants learned from Columbia faculty about the consequences of settlement and monitoring, which informed SOS commitments to shared governance protections, cross-disciplinary coalitions, and sustained organizing for academic freedom.

August 25 – Second Capitol Visit and House Committee Letters to University of Illinois, UCSF, and UCLA Medical Schools (Source: Committee on Education & Workforce)

• A small SOS delegation returned to Sacramento to meet with the Chief of Staff for State Senator Christopher Cabaldon, elevating faculty, staff, and student stories and reinforcing sustained engagement in the Capitol. 

• That same day, House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Tim Walberg sent oversight letters to UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine, and the University of Illinois College of Medicine, raising campus climate concerns and requesting Title VI information. Increased scrutiny can translate into added compliance demands that touch labs, graduate and professional training, clinical rotations, and curricula, with implications for academic and clinical freedom. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here.

August 22 – Community Meeting: Listening and Co-Creating Solutions

• Participants co-created a “third option” for funding that balances short-term fixes with long-term structural solutions, weaving in lessons from past brain drain and expanding the coalition beyond UC to protect research as a public good.

August 18 – Capitol Visit and Launch of Daily Power Hours

• SOS supporters traveled to Sacramento for a Capitol rally and legislative meetings with Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan and Sade Elhwary, Assemblymember Kate McKinnor’s Chief of Staff, and Senators Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and Scott Wiener. The day centered the experiences of students, staff, and faculty and launched Daily Power Hours for ongoing storytelling, coordination, and action.

August 15 – Community Meeting: Planning for Capitol Visit

• Participants prepared for the 8/18 Capitol visit by reviewing UC grant impacts and SB-829, recognizing the threat of brain drain, and building coordinated advocacy tools like one-pagers and letter systems.

August 13 – Community Meeting: Voices of Concerned Californians and Allies

• Concerned Californians and allies lifted up the human cost of training grant freezes, which led to plans for a suspended science fair and stronger advocacy through letter-writing and direct engagement with legislators.

August 12 – Community Meeting: Setting the Stakes and Legal Momentum (Source: NY Times)

• Community members gathered to name the impact of frozen grants, share stories of courage and grief, and commit to coalition building and a California Sovereignty Fund. That same day, a federal judge ordered the National Science Foundation to restore UCLA grants, reinforcing the legal basis for reversing broad funding freezes. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here.

August 8 – Trump Administration Seeks $1 Billion Settlement from UCLA (Source: CNN) 

• The Trump administration proposed a $1 billion settlement that would impose sweeping restrictions on UCLA, including bans on race-based scholarships and gender-affirming care, in exchange for restoring frozen grants. UC President James Milliken called the proposal a “nonstarter” that would devastate the university system and harm Californians. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

July 29 – DOJ Issues Notice of Findings on UCLA (Source: DOJ) 

• The Department of Justice issued findings related to campus climate concerns at UCLA, invited a voluntary resolution, and noted it may pursue litigation if no agreement is reached. The development increases pressure on the campus and could lead to added oversight and compliance activity affecting research, teaching, and clinical training. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here.

June 26 – DOJ Opens Title VII Employment Investigation into UC System (Source: DOJ)

• The Department of Justice opened a pattern-or-practice investigation into UC employment practices, signaling system-wide federal scrutiny that can divert leadership time and resources, disrupt staffing pipelines for labs and clinics, and set conditions for broader actions that affect research continuity and student training. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

June 17 – UC Researchers Seek Class Certification in Thakur v. Trump (Case 3:25-cv-04737-RFL) 

• Plaintiffs asked the court to let the case represent all affected UC researchers, arguing federal agencies unlawfully cut approved grants, with a hearing set for June 20. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here. 

April - May 2025: Federal Shifts and Bridge Support (Source: UCLA ORA & APLU) 

• NSF announced two large waves of grant terminations with leadership changes and new guidance, the State Assembly held a hearing on UC impacts, and multiple federal agencies issued cuts or restructurings that affect research, teaching, and public service. In May, philanthropy launched rapid response bridge grants to help researchers with terminated NSF awards. Read an archived version from the Wayback Machine here.