Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Matt Carling

Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · Mar 3

NSF plans to reinstate all probationary employees who were fired on 18 Feb!
NSF’s decision. 👏🏻👏🏻❤️

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Reposted by Matt Carling

Jonathan Lambert @jonlambert.bsky.social · Mar 3

Memo from NSF director stating that all probationary employees fired last month are being rehired.

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Reposted by Matt Carling

Dr. Holly P Jones @dochpjones.bsky.social · Feb 24

My perspective on the travesty of firing ~10% of NSF employees last week aired on my local @npr.org station but you all can read it and listen here. www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/20... 🧪.

I highlighted some of the kudos for the terminated POs that @mdcarling.bsky.social spearheaded.

Perspective: What's science worth to you?

Holly Jones says cuts at the National Science Foundation will hurt us all.

www.northernpublicradio.org

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Feb 21

If you'd like the links to any of these boards to contribute your own message, please DM me (I'm hesitant to post them publicly). I hope we can provide our friends and colleagues an outpouring of support in these insane times. Finally, please help me spread the word far and wide. Thank you.
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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Feb 21

As a small token of gratitude, Kudoboards have been setup to allow the PI community to give thanks to these tireless public servants, who dedicated their careers not to the pursuit of their own research goals, but to helping us achieve ours.
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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Feb 21

As many of you know, ~170 Program Officers at #NSF were fired on Tuesday, including a number that worked in Divisions important to the EEB community (e.g., DEB and GEO/OPP).
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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Feb 18

Hey #ornithologists or really anyone. Help Flocks Take Flight by donating today: www.gofundme.com/f/flocks-for...

Donate to Help Flocks take flights for ornithologists!, organized by Ashley Dayer

We all need a space to feel we belong and where we are supported. This is wh… Ashley Dayer needs your support for Help Flocks take flights for ornithologists!

www.gofundme.com

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Feb 18

This is absolutely devastating www.wired.com/story/nation...

National Science Foundation Fires 168 Workers as Federal Purge Continues

Firings at the NSF included permanent employees who had already completed their one-year probationary period, as well as at-will workers.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Matt Carling

Dr. Jennifer Wade @volcanojw.bsky.social · Feb 8

Do you want a big overview of NSF, explaining things like the fact that 24% of all federally funded academic fundamental research comes from NSF? And that 94% of its budget goes out the door in grants/awards? Here you go. nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/Factsh...

An “NSF BY THE NUMBERS” fact sheet screenshot with some facts about “ADVANCING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD”

-The U.S. National Science Foundation was created by Congress in_ 1950 to continue the U.S. science and technology enterprise began during World War II.
-NSF allocates 94% of its approximately $8.5 billion budget for grants and awards to support research projects, facilities and STEM education.
-NSF funds research in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
-NSF fosters international scientific collaboration on all 7 continents around the globe.
-About 2,000 academic and other private and public institutions across the U.S. conduct NSF-funded research.
-NSF supports 24% of all federally funded academic fundamental research at U.S. colleges and universities.
fundamental research comes from NSF.
- In 2020, NSF received approximately 43,000 research proposals from scientists and engineers and funded about 12,000.
- NSF-funded researchers have received 248 Nobel Prizes.

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Reposted by Matt Carling

Katie Wagner @cewagnerlab.bsky.social · Feb 13

Do you know what tomorrow is? It's send a federal worker a valentine day! Our federal employees need a lift, a laugh, and some love. Send over your best federal-agency themed Valentines puns and with @500womensci.bsky.social we’ll launch some templates tonight!

Heart Shaped image with the words, "Send a Federal Employee a Valentine! Let’s send our federal workers a lift, a laugh and some love. You’ve got broader impacts on our hearts!
You’re air-replaceable! Thanks for protecting our planet!
Our love for you is highly significant (p < 0.0001)!
You rock our world! (And tectonic plates.)
You’re TREE-mendous! Thanks
for protecting our parks and
our hearts!"

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Reposted by Matt Carling

Jonathan Lambert @jonlambert.bsky.social · Feb 11

Is your NSF grant on this list? Reach out if so!

Ted Cruz released a list of grants flagged for DEI or "neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda" from his Oct. report.

NSF is using keywords from that report for their review, though Cruz's list is likely larger.
www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/2/cruz-...

Cruz-Led Investigation Uncovers $2 Billion in Woke DEI Grants at NSF, Releases Full Database

www.commerce.senate.gov

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Feb 2

Finally an update from #NSF new.nsf.gov/executive-or...

NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders

Information for the NSF community regarding executive orders.

new.nsf.gov

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

www.govexec.com/management/2...

Why Feds Don’t Strike

During the 35-day partial government shutdown, many wondered why workers didn’t just strike. Here’s an explainer.

www.govexec.com

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

What’s more, the Office of Personnel Management can declare an individual who participates in a strike unsuitable for federal employment. Forever.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

Driving the point home, 18 U.S.C. §1918 makes it a felony to strike against the United States or belong to a union that asserts the right to strike against the United States.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

5 U.S.C. §7311, specifies that federal employees may not participate in a strike, assert the right to strike, or even belong to a union that “asserts the right to strike against the government of the United States.”

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

All they can do is silently toil while doing the best they can. Likely while trying to suppress and anger, rage, and frustration they might feel at being cutoff from what they love to do - serve the PI community.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

But, to me, it seems a nearly impossible situation. NSF employees cannot lobby congress. NSF employees cannot go on strike.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

The Implementation of Recent Executive Orders page seemingly hasn’t been updated since it was posted despite the promise that it “is being updated often,” and that questions will be compiled and posted as FAQs.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

I’m not trying to suggest that NSF is handling things smoothly or appropriately. Certainly communication could be much better.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

Seem possible they could be fired, wholesale, every single one. The entire organization above the level of Program Officer could be gone and not rehired (there’s a federal hiring freeze, I believe). Then what? What’s NSF at that point? Maybe this is crazy talk, but is it?

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

Also, if I remember correctly, all members of the Senior Executive Service at NSF can basically be fired at any time. Think DDDs, DDs, DADs, ADs. They certainly don’t have union protection. So what happens if they ignore EOs because they want to uphold the COMPETES Act, or other relevant laws?

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

I am not an attorney, but it seems NSF employees are stuck, which was acknowledged in yesterday’s Science piece. Yes, the COMPETES Act codified many aspects of NSF’s Broaden Participation efforts. But doesn’t violating an EO potentially come with either civil or criminal penalties?

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

I would imagine that many NSF employees feel the same way, but are prevented from communicating that with the research community and general public. PIs are NSF’s lifeblood and being cutoff from communicating with them must be agonizing for Program Officers.

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Matt Carling @mdcarling.bsky.social · Jan 31

Obviously, it’s heartbreaking and perhaps criminal that many researchers are in limbo, and some, like PRFB fellows, aren’t getting paid.

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