KALAMAZOO, MI — The Trump administration has canceled a grant to Western Michigan University related to climate change, school officials said on Tuesday, March 25.

A letter from the U.S. State Department cited “changing priorities of the administration,” as the reason, as it canceled the Fulbright scholar-in-residence grant, said Allen Webb, a professor and member of WMU’s Climate Change Working Group.

The loss of this grant could derail WMU’s plan to bring in a climate change expert from Mexico for the year.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has rolled back numerous protections and regulations aimed at curbing climate change.

Webb, who’s worked with the Fulbright Scholar Program for 20 years, said he’s never seen a grant “cherry-picked” for cancellation before and is not aware of any other university grants canceled.

Webb is working with WMU’s attorneys to investigate the cancellation and determine next steps, he said.

The amount of the grant wasn’t available prior to publication.

Javier Becerril García, a professor at the Autonomous University of Yucatán in Mexico, was invited to WMU to facilitate collaboration between Mexico and the United States on climate change research, a news release from WMU’s Climate Change Working Group said.

García has expertise in regenerative agriculture practiced by the Mayan people, an indigenous group in southern Mexico. Mayan communities are particularly vulnerable to climate change because of poverty and marginalization and a loss of biodiversity, the release said.

The scholar-in-residence program allows universities to welcome a scholar from outside the U.S. for a semester or year to teach courses, assist in curriculum development, guest lecture and develop study abroad/exchange partnerships.

WMU’s Climate Change Working Group applied for and received the grant in 2024 under the Biden Administration, Webb said. Arrangements were already made for García to stay in Kalamazoo for a year.

García was supposed to work with local community groups and co-teach a class on the social and cultural dimensions of climate change with Webb.

“Before we could even begin, he was gone,” said Mia Breznau, a former high school member of the Ardea Youth Climate Leadership program in Kalamazoo.

Dee Sherwood, a WMU social work professor and adviser to the WMU Native American Student Organization, said the grant cancellation is “profoundly disappointing.”

“It is rare to have a scholar with a focus on Indigenous science in residence on campus at WMU for a full year,” Sherwood said. “Students would have enjoyed learning about Mayan practices and facilitating communication and collaboration between Indigenous nations.”

Since taking office, the Trump Administration has announced a blitz of pollution and climate regulation rollbacks at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The rollbacks largely target the agency’s landmark finding that greenhouse gas emissions harm public health.

MORE: Trump EPA launches blitz of pollution and climate rule rollbacks

The agency’s mission was reframed to promote energy production, slash regulations and increase fossil fuel production, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in March.

Webb said he believes the Trump Administration is “canceling any government efforts addressing climate change.”

In the future, Webb said “there’s no point,” in applying for another grant to study climate change.

“Trying to create justice, trying to create mutual understanding between countries around questions of justice and questions of climate change is some of the most important work we could be doing,” Webb said.

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