‘It’s just devastating,’ Chicago State president says of federal cuts
- lindathelibrarian
- Jun 29
- 1 min read
While schools like Harvard, Columbia and Northwestern have gotten most of the attention, regional public universities are losing grants too.
By Lisa Kurian Philip
It’s not only big-name institutions that are feeling the effects of President Donald Trump’s attacks on higher education.
The administration’s decision to freeze nearly $800 million in funding for Northwestern University has gotten a lot of attention. But on the other side of Chicago, in the Far South Side neighborhood of Roseland, Chicago State University has been hit by federal cuts as well.
The public college is the only one in the state with a predominantly Black student body, and it has far less money than a place like Northwestern with which to support them. So far, the school has lost about $5 million in federal grants.
Chicago State President Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott spoke with WBEZ about what that means for her university and its students. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
There has been a lot of attention paid to how Trump’s attacks on higher education are affecting big-name, wealthy schools like Columbia and Northwestern. But I’m wondering what kind of impacts you’re seeing at Chicago State, which is a public access institution.