UT system loses $37.7M in federal grants; Institute of Agriculture is hardest hit

The University of Tennessee system will lose at least $37.7 million in federal grant funding due to cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration. (Photo: John Partipilo)

President Donald Trump’s administration has pulled the plug on roughly $37.7 million in federal funding across 42 grants for the University of Tennessee System.

The majority of the loss — $31.2 million — comes from eight terminated grants at the UT Institute of Agriculture. The institute houses the university’s agriculture research arm as well as its statewide educational organization providing resources to Tennessee farmers and communities in all 95 counties. It also houses the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and the Herbert College of Agriculture.

The UT school system was set to receive more than $59 million across 58 awards from multiple federal departments and agencies, according to records reviewed by Tennessee Lookout. The grant terminations apply to $51.4 million of that total, $37.7 million of which has not yet been spent.

UT’s Knoxville campus saw 25 awards terminated, representing a loss of a combined $2.1 million in funding. Other campuses impacted include:

• UT Health Science Center: 4 terminated programs ($2.6 million)
• UT Chattanooga: 4 terminated programs ($1.4 million)
• UT Institute for Public Service: 1 terminated program ($419,107)

“The most immediate impact has been the need to transition students and staff supported by these affected projects to alternative funding sources,” spokesperson Melissa Tindell wrote in an email to Tennessee Lookout Friday. “Essential work such as reporting, compliance and other research operations continue with adjusted support.”

A total of 23 stop work orders have been rescinded system-wide, Tindell wrote. Nine partial stop work orders are in effect, “meaning that portions of the projects cannot be completed, though the total award amount hasn’t been impacted at this time.”

Ten grants remain active, and six are “pending.” 

Campuses with active grants include:

• UT Knoxville: 4 active awards ($1.5 million)
• UT Chattanooga: 2 active awards ($237,650)
• UT Institute of Agriculture: 4 active awards ($1.5 million)

Awards pending further review include:

• UT Knoxville: 3 awards ($1.2 million)
• UT Health Science Center: 1 award ($82,000)
• UT Martin: 1 award ($62,245)
• UT Institute of Agriculture: 1 award (value unknown)

Of the several federal agencies that terminated funding to UT grants, the USDA reclaimed by far the most funds at $26.9 million.

Foreign aid freeze halts University of Tennessee international agriculture program

Federal records show one of the grants affected was a $30 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture aiming to expand markets for climate-smart beef, dairy and small grazing animals across multiple states. The University of Tennessee sub-awarded $10.24 million to other universities for their roles in research meant to “support farmers’ and ranchers’ implementation and monitoring of climate-smart practices,” according to the grant summary on usaspending.gov.

Records maintained by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) indicate $30 million in “savings” from terminating the grant, but other federal records show $2.1 million already outlaid since the project started in September 2023. It’s not clear if the money spent was part of the project’s additional $6.2 million in non-federal funding. The project was supposed to conclude in September 2028.

The university’s Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOFT) program, which sent volunteers to Southeast Asia to support agriculture education in developing countries, is another spending cut casualty. 

The program was awarded five years of funding under the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2023, but was put under a stop work order in February. The university’s webpage explaining the program now — now written in the past tense — shows its achievements from 2023 through 2025. University records show one terminated USAID program worth around $4.1 million.