Her grants were cancelled - to fund statues of «Great Americans»

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Academia vs. Trump

Will America’s democratic institutions survive Trump?

As unrest spreads, researchers and lecturers at universities are doing what they can to keep activities running as normally as possible. In laboratories and lecture halls, it’s business as usual. But the disruptions are mounting. What are faculty thinking about their situation—now, in the near future, and in the longer term? How are the students doing?

In a series of articles funded by the Fritt Ord Foundation, The University Newspaper and Uniforum will visit a number of universities in the United States this fall. We report on the situation as it is experienced on the ground.

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Diana Owen

• Professor of Political Science in the Master’s Program in Communication, Culture & Technology (CCT), American Studies Program.
• Director of the Civic Education Research Lab (CERL) at Georgetown.Research areas: Media and politics, voting behavior and elections, political socialization, civic education and engagement — with a particular focus on youth and “high-need” schools.
• Received the Established Leader Award from the American Political Science Association’s Civic Engagement Section in 2024.

Denne artikkelen er publisert både på norsk og engelsk. Den norske versjonen finner du her.

Diana Owen is a tenured professor of political science at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her field of research is civic education. Two of her canceled grants came from the Department of Education and one from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

- The one from NEH they pretty much wiped out, she says.

Soon after, she and her team learned that the funds withdrawn from these canceled grants had been redirected to the creation of the “National Garden of American Heroes”, a long-promised park of statues on the National Mall.

- That’s one of his pet projects, she continues. «He» being President Donald Trump.

The National Mall is the broad expanse between the Washington Monument and Congress, occupied primarily by the Smithsonian museums. It is a vast, open space, meant to remain that way.

- Why were your grants canceled?

- They claimed the entire grant was against the Trump administration’s policies because it engaged in illegal DEI, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or other topics they labeled as ‘un-American,’ she replies.

DOGE – the Department of Government Efficiency was an initiative originally led by Elon Musk during Trump’s first months in office, aimed at slashing the federal bureaucracy.

- It was awful, Professor Owen continues.

- They wrote that what we were doing was worthless. They insulted us at the same time as canceling and taking the money away. Concerning the second grant, they wrote that it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. I suppose that’s because we work with high-need kids.

A University with History

Georgetown was established in 1751 as a commercial hub and port settlement along the Potomac River. In 1789, Georgetown University was founded as the first institution of higher education in the United States. A year later, in 1790, Washington, D.C., was established as the nation’s capital.

Georgetown has a strong international reputation in political science, international relations, and diplomacy.

Owen and her colleagues have found ways to navigate around these cancellations to secure alternative funding.

- It looks like things are leveling off in the Department of Education. Now it’s people in the National Institutes of Health who are feeling the heat. I’ve been fortunate. Others haven’t been as lucky. One thing that distinguishes Georgetown, among many, is that only ten percent of our budget is supported by federal grants, so it’s a much smaller share.

- Now, we didn’t get any, so we’re pulling back on programming. Nobody got a raise, all those things. But still, I feel fortunate to be here.

Soldiers on Campus

On the way to campus, we pass a small unit of National Guard soldiers on patrol. Washington, D.C., was the first city to have troops deployed, strongly against the mayor’s will.

At her office, Owen confirms that soldiers have been seen on campus.

- Mainly to use our restrooms, she says with a half-smile.

- But we’ve seen them standing right outside, guns drawn. Doing what? Taking pictures of squirrels. And I’m not exaggerating. They were just standing there. No crime, nothing happening.

The soldiers are also seen around other parts of the city, including near the Smithsonian.

- There are crime-infested areas in this city, but that’s not where they’re patrolling. I’ve personally seen them stopping cars and conducting some sort of checks. I don’t know for what.

It’s easy to make jokes about the spectacle, she admits, but having soldiers roaming the streets is no laughing matter.

- What’s kind of sad is that students are getting used to this, because they’ve been posted in places where they live, Owen reflects.

Fear and Fatigue Among Faculty

Faculty at Georgetown react differently to what has happened to their university, Owen says, their reactions depending on how directly they’ve been affected.

- People who haven’t had grants taken away tend to think this isn’t something they need to worry about. I don’t understand how they can just pretend it’s not happening. I’m not sure they’re even paying attention to the news. It disturbs me, that people can be so oblivious to what’s going on. It’s upsetting.

She describes tense faculty meetings: some colleagues deeply anxious because they’ve seen agents outside their homes or soldiers in the streets, while others lash out in ways that distress her.

- We do have a supportive administration here. Still, you wonder. Is someone going to pick up the phone, and the next thing you know, you’re in trouble? It does make you self-censor a bit.

- Do you worry someone might talk to the government about other faculty?

- I don’t expect that would happen, she replies, thinks for a while, adds:

- Still, I’ve decided to hold back at faculty meetings.

A War on Culture

- You’re a political scientist, and you’ve been told that part of the money from your canceled grants will fund Trump’s monument project. How important would you say this ‘war on culture’ is to the broader MAGA movement?

- I think it’s central to the entire MAGA project, to sanitize history. It’s a key component of Christian nationalist ideology, as well as a way to downplay the role of other races in American history, she says.

The cultural-war dimension of MAGA, she believes, is one of its strongest and most resonant themes.

- It’s easier to communicate that to his followers than some of the more complex economic issues, like the current debate over the shutdown, or how the budget impacts healthcare and other programs.

The assault on American universities, she says, is also part of that broader cultural campaign.

- They’re going after not only the African American Museum but the whole Smithsonian, the Museum of American History, everything. And now they’re targeting the national parks. They’ve already had some success changing the signage at sites commemorating slavery.

- So what’s his goal, you assume? To erase the slavery part of history?

- Slavery, and other things he sees as negative portrayals of American history, to just make America shine. His view is that American history should be more positive and shouldn’t dwell on the darker parts.