University of Pittsburgh leadership issued this message to all employees on Sept. 30, 2025 regarding a federal government shutdown.
We will use this webpage to provide details on federal activities as they become available. At this time, during a government shutdown, the following activities are affected:
General Communications
- Limited Contact with Federal Employees: Due to furloughs, federal employees will generally be unavailable for inquiries and support.
- Proposal Submission: Proposal submission systems may become unavailable. Each federal agency will provide guidance on the status of the proposal submissions and whether submission deadlines will be revised.
- Scheduled Deadlines: Unless otherwise stated, do not assume a deadline has been revised. As a best practice, continue to submit proposals, reports and other communications by their deadlines. Investigators and administrators are strongly encouraged to submit federal proposals well ahead of deadlines to ensure there is time to address any government system issues that arise given the potential lack of government help desk support.
- Peer Reviews and Council Meetings: No peer reviews or council meetings will take place, which may have an impact on the evaluation and approval process of proposed projects.
- Awarded Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Generally, awarded grants and cooperative agreements will continue with minimal disruptions.
- Federal Contracts: Some contracts may be subject to stop-work orders. Determinations will be made by each agency on a contract-by-contract basis.
- New Awards and Contracts: New awards will not be issued, and contracts will not be executed.
- Regulatory and Compliance: The University will continue to submit reports to federal offices, with the understanding that the communications may not be processed in a timely fashion.
- Trade Compliance: Delays on the export of materials from Pitt to other countries, as well as the import of biologic materials to the University could be experienced.
Deadlines and Modifications Related to Pending or Funded Proposals:
- If you have a question about a pending proposal or documents related to an award, or you receive an agency request for you to take an action on your proposal or award, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at osp@pitt.edu.
- If you have financially related questions about a current award, please contact Sponsored Projects Accounting at fiscalofficer@cfo.pitt.edu.
Answers to a Specific Inquiry:
- For other research related questions, contact research@pitt.edu.
Answers to Research-Related Questions from U.S. White House and Related Associations:
- Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and Association of American Universities are continuing to monitor the situation. You may find more updates on these partner association sites. APLU has developed a compilation of federal agency lapse plans which can be found here.
- Council on Government Relations (COGR): Consult this link for a list of considerations when preparing for a government shutdown.
- Relevant units of the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep you apprised of agency-specific guidance as it becomes available.
- If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at research@pitt.edu.
Below are links to agency-specific contingency plans outlining which activities will continue, which will pause, and associated staffing plans:
- U.S. Department of Education
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- National Institutes of Health
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Outlined below are more specifics related to agency operations.
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is funded through a three-year appropriation and has announced that all of its activities will continue during a lapse in appropriations.
Specific to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the HHS contingency plan includes a summary of NIH activities that will not continue, including the following:
- All NIH grant peer review meetings, advisory council meetings, issuance of new awards, and program/grants management activities.
- The admission of new patients at the NIH Clinical Center (unless deemed medically necessary by the NIH Clinical Center Director)
- Scientific meetings at NIH facilities.
- Travel of NIH scientists to scientific meetings.
- Almost all NIH administrative functions, including the onboard of non-excepted staff.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will remain open and fully operational until further notice under operating reserves from the prior year’s fee collections.