More grants to Kansas universities have been canceled by President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, led by businessman Elon Musk. The
DOGE "savings" website was updated Wednesday, including with additional detail on previously posted actions that lacked descriptions. The updates show a canceled grant to Wichita State University, a canceled grant to Kansas State University and confirm a previously reported canceled grant to K-State.
DOGE cancels Wichita State University grant from EPA
DOGE reported canceling an Environment Protection Agency grant to Wichita State University. The grant was reportedly for $5 million, and DOGE claimed a savings of $3.9 million by canceling it. That's a different dollar amount than
Wichita State reported in 2023 , when it announced the EPA award. The university had said it would receive at least $10 million over five years. "This grant from the EPA is a phenomenal opportunity for Wichita State to drive prosperity for rural and underserved communities, who unfortunately carry a disproportional share of pollution and environmental hazards," WSU president Rick Muma said in April 2023. "We look forward to the opportunity to advance environmental justice in our region and promote healthy growth for Kansas and our Midwestern neighbors." The DOGE website described the now-canceled funding as a "critical investment" in an environment justice center at WSU. The center's role was to "provide training and other assistance" for communities to apply for federal grants and "remove barriers and improve accessibility." The Heartland Environmental Justice Center at WSU
announced earlier this month that it was immediately pausing all activities. "We are dedicated to the mission behind this work and will keep looking for additional funding opportunities," Jeff Severin, the center's associate director, said in the announcement. "Meanwhile, we want to express our heartfelt appreciation for the collaboration, commitment, and positive impact we’ve created together through this initiative." The center, which was established in 2023, touted its work. "While this transition presents challenges, it does not diminish the impact we have made together or our deep commitment to environmental sustainability," Severin said. Among its listed examples was helping an organization serving multiple Kansas counties to secure a Brownfields Job Training grant. While the center did not identify the organization,
the EPA's grant announcement in December included the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas. The
$500,000 grant will be used to train 90 students — specifically people from Sedgwick County who are from disadvantaged areas, under-represented populations or who are veterans — for work cleaning up environmental pollution. Local officials had credited the Heartland Environmental Justice Center at Wichita State
with helping secure the grant . The center served Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as federally recognized Native American tribes.
DOGE cancels Kansas State University grant from USAID
DOGE reported canceling a U.S. Agency for International Development grant to Kansas State University. The grant was reportedly for $12 million, and DOGE claimed a savings of $2 million by canceling it. The DOGE website described the funding as providing "greatly needed assistance" to Haiti "to identify and seek the solution to its agricultural problems" with "an easy-to-follow and realistic plan." The effort involved a consortium of universities and research institutions led by K-State, which the description indicated was because K-State housed the USAID innovation lab on sustainable intensification.
DOGE now reports canceled K-State innovation lab
The DOGE website also now appears to list a cancellation of at least one of two innovation labs at K-State, which university officials previously announced. The innovation labs, through USAID's Feed the Future, funded agricultural research. DOGE reported canceling a $37 million grant from USAID to K-State, claiming a savings of $33 million by canceling it. The Climate Resilient Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, or CRSIIL, was awarded to K-State in November. It was supposed to be $50 million for five years, with a potential for a renewal for another five years and an additional $50 million. The Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab, or CRCIL, was awarded to K-State in October. It was supposed to be $22 million in funding, with a potential ceiling of $37 million, for research on wheat, sorghum, rice and millet. The DOGE website uses the CRSIIL acronym but pairs it with the $37 million potential ceiling of CRCIL. As of Thursday, the DOGE website tied the cancelled grant to K-State but didn't have any more detail on that particular cancellation. The DOGE website also didn't specifically list a cancellation for the other innovation lab at K-State, but the data did have a line for a $50 million grant with no description. K-State officials have already reported that both of those grants were terminated.
Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd .
