Science Editorial

My not-so-favorite year

by H. Holden Thorp

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s a good time to step back and assess one of the most tumultuous years in the history of American science. The second Trump administration has brought cuts to so many important efforts. Grants aimed at important aspects of science have been abruptly terminated, and the ability of science to welcome talent from all over the world was curtailed. Government attacks on the scientific enterprise have sent a discouraging message to future scientists, raising the specter of a lost generation of scientific talent in the United States. All of this has been compounded by the slashing of programs that allow people who have been traditionally excluded from science to participate more fully.

Perhaps even more dismaying is that the primary motivation for these painful losses is the political usefulness of attacking not just science, but higher education more broadly. How has the leadership of American academic science and its institutions contributed to the situation? Not everyone wants to engage in this discussion; in some portions of the internet, it’s viewed as drawing a moral equivalence with the actions of politicians. I disagree. A year into these onslaughts, there can be no better time to talk about how to strengthen science and make it less susceptible to attacks in the future.

To begin with, let’s consider that it may have been a mistake for higher education to take for granted that earning a college degree should be a goal for all Americans, even those who might be inclined to thrive in other ways like starting a small business or learning a lucrative trade. We’ve all heard the standard American success story in which a high school graduate overcomes difficult circumstances to be the first in their family to go to college and earn a professional degree, often leaving the town where they grew up. Local newspapers frequently run stories of the star student who goes off to an Ivy League university.

But this ideal no longer unites all Americans. It has become fractured along political lines. A college education has now become the single factor that best predicts how someone will vote. Only 42% of Americans support higher education, which is nearly identical to the percentage of Americans who have a college degree. It’s become clear that people who have not directly benefited by, say, receiving a Pell Grant for college financial aid, may not support higher education, making the defunding of higher ed, or threats to do so, a politically popular move.

Although skepticism about scientific research has contributed to a widespread lack of confidence in higher education, that is only part of the story. Doubts about the nature, cost, and benefits of undergraduate education are the primary drivers for the collapse. As research funding has been cut this year, it has been common to hear cries that “we need to help Americans understand the importance of science!” But cutting the research funding has been simply a mechanism for politicians to lash back at the entire system of higher education. Confidence in scientists remains higher than that for journalists, business leaders, and elected officials. 

As Harvard philosopher Danielle Allen outlined recently, higher education needs a new compact with the public. In Allen’s view, shoring up support for research will require greater emphasis on undergraduate education. The framing of this idea is delicate because these institutions are filled with outstanding and dedicated faculty, many of whom do a great job with undergraduate teaching. The problem is that they are not being given the time, resources, and recognition commensurate with the extent to which their work drives the success of the institution in everything, including research. Administrators have worried about this problem for decades, but continuing to postpone these reforms—with endless meetings that don’t lead to change—has resulted in the current moment.

So in the final stretch of the year, let’s recognize everyone who continues to do the important work of great teaching, despite the discouraging climate. Those who inspire the next generation of scientists deserve praise that is equal to that given to individuals who make astounding scientific breakthroughs. Certainly, future breakthroughs will be hard to come by without the continued work of these educators.