I went to his blog to try to find something about QFT that I don’t understand and found this alarming entry: https://profmattstrassler.com/2025/04/17/blog-on-indefinite-pause/

The original message seems to have been deleted and all that remains are the replies, which suggest Strassler has been got at by Trump’s gauleiters. Does anyone know what’s going on here? Has he lost his position?

I do not know him so cannot speak to his situation. However, if he is tenured, he should be fairly safe job-wise, considering he is at Harvard, I believe?

While I cannot say specifics to this person, I can mention things I heard from colleagues, which is not really pretty. In short, research has ground to a halt with NIH announcements now recently have started, but with severe delays, other major funding agencies are still delayed, so folks are in a limbo in terms of how to continue. Harvard specifically has been cut off from funding, from what I have heard (there are ongoing lawsuits). But especially smaller institutions are struggling with figuring out how to pay graduate students and what to do with the research portfolio. This also impacts established researchers, but especially non-tenured faculty are vulnerable as for many it is now virtually impossible to get the grants necessary to pass tenure review and there are ongoing discussion whether evaluation has to change. At the same time, there is also the overall budget cuts, which will fundamentally cut research and teaching in the US to a significant degree. Some institutions have advised faculty not to engage too much publicly, for fear of online backlash. As whole, the university administrations are caving in and/or are trying to keep their heads down and hope that this will eventually blow over. Fundamentally, we see an exercise in cowardice.

In part, it is understandable, as they do not really have anything but moral leverage and we see how precarious elements of free speech and academic freedom really are. Whether anything of this relevant to the decision is unclear, but almost all researchers in the US will have to to rethink how things are going forward, with little support.

Wayback machine has it

https://web.archive.org/web/20250417142106/https://profmattstrassler.com/2025/04/17/blog-on-indefinite-pause/

“As the US government freezes scientific funding and attacks my host institution (under the pretense of fighting anti-semitism — a claim no one here believes, given that the government is now doing far more actual harm to Harvard’s not-so-small population of Jewish faculty, researchers and students than was ever done by anti-Gaza-war protestors), it has become impossible to continue with my normal activities. I hope to resume them in the future.”

23 minutes ago, swansont said:

Wayback machine has it

https://web.archive.org/web/20250417142106/https://profmattstrassler.com/2025/04/17/blog-on-indefinite-pause/

“As the US government freezes scientific funding and attacks my host institution (under the pretense of fighting anti-semitism — a claim no one here believes, given that the government is now doing far more actual harm to Harvard’s not-so-small population of Jewish faculty, researchers and students than was ever done by anti-Gaza-war protestors), it has become impossible to continue with my normal activities. I hope to resume them in the future.”

Thanks. I presume what this means is he is too occupied with the issue of how to fight to retain academic independence to have the time to write his blog. Fair enough.

What is especially sinister about this is that he has found it necessary to take down this explanatory text after posting it, presumably for fear of retribution, either against him personally or against his department. That alone speaks volumes.

27 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Thanks. I presume what this means is he is too occupied with the issue of how to fight to retain academic independence to have the time to write his blog. Fair enough.

What is especially sinister about this is that he has found it necessary to take down this explanatory text after posting it, presumably for fear of retribution, either against him personally or against his department. That alone speaks volumes.

Also it’s possible that staff have been directed do and not do certain things.

40 minutes ago, swansont said:

Also it’s possible that staff have been directed do and not do certain things.

Yes, I suppose with a court challenge pending the lawyers will want to control carefully any messages from staff that might be seen as evidence of political attitudes at the institution.

Edited May 14May 14 by exchemist

1 hour ago, swansont said:

Also it’s possible that staff have been directed do and not do certain things.

I have heard from a colleague that admin has advised them to basically keep their mouths shut. But that historically does not go well with faculty, as they see that as part of academic freedom. In most cases they do not have the authority to do so.

50 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Yes, I suppose with a court challenge pending the lawyers will want to control carefully any messages from staff that might be seen as evidence of political attitudes at the institution.

That would make sense for a private organization (and could be true for private universities) but generally goes against how universities used to operate. That being said, academic freedom has been under fire for a long time now and this is a move towards further restrictions. That being said, I also heard that senior faculty at Harvard have offered salary cuts, to help with finances (mostly with a view toward staff, students and postdocs). It is possible that under the general threat they are more receptive to short-term restrictions, if it can help their negotiations.