Recent instances of colleges and universities facing pressure by the Trump administration to implement institutional demands or risk having their federal funding cut have sparked conversations about the contents of Bowdoin’s own funding.

Following Harvard University’s refusal to accede to institutional demands made by the Trump administration, which include specific audits of academic departments, as well as faculty members and students, the Trump administration subsequently pulled $2.2 billion in federal funding from Harvard. In response, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) published a letter on Tuesday entitled “A Call for Constructive Engagement.”

The letter decried violations of institutional independence by the Trump administration; President Safa Zaki was a signatory along with more than 200 other college and university officials.

Predating Bowdoin’s newly outspoken stance, a letter from the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Workforce was sent to Zaki and Chair of the Board of Trustees Scott Perper. The letter noted conditions for the further receival of federal funding, such as compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects students from discrimination and harassment.

The actions from not only the legislative, but also the executive branch, have raised concerns about the federal government’s role in inhibiting both financial and ideological independence at the College.

To discuss the contents of Bowdoin’s federal funding, the Orient communicated with Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Matthew Orlando, who shared a detailed independent auditors’ report outlining Bowdoin’s total expenditure of federal funds for the previous academic year. The report also notes precisely what federal agencies sourced the funds, with subheadings for individual programs and projects.

The report states that last academic year, the College spent $7,565,097 from the Department of Education. This was used for Federal Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), Upward Bound, Federal Pell Grants, the Federal Perkins Loan Program and the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP).

Orlando noted in an email to the Orient that the combined $4,259,916 from the Federal Perkins Loan Program and FDSLP involves direct loans to students rather than money being given directly from the federal government to the College. He also clarified that the $754,447 listed for the Federal Perkins Loan Program is based on prior year outstanding loans. Given that the Federal Perkins Loan Program was shut down in 2017, there are no more loans made from that program and therefore no money to spend. The FDSLP, however, is still active.

“The College packages financial aid to meet full need without including loans. Notwithstanding, Direct Loans are available, and some students and families choose to take these loans based on their own financial situation and planning,” Orlando wrote in an email to the Orient.

Students use those loans to pay for Bowdoin tuition, leading to the Federal Perkins Loan Program and FDSLP being included in the list of federal expenditures. They are thus of a different sort than the other funded programs from the Department of Education, but still types of funding that the Trump administration could cut off.

The College also spent $1,928,391 in research and development grants. These came from the National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Commerce and Department of Agriculture. By far, the most money that was spent from one entity came from the National Science Foundation, which the report listed at $1,028,101.

In total, Bowdoin spent $9,493,488 in federal funds last academic year. Orlando noted that a loss of this funding would require the College creating alternative avenues to assist students and faculty.

“The College would have to find a way to meet the full need of students who are Pell Grant, FWS and/or FSEOG eligible and to continue to support faculty research,” Orlando wrote.