Uncertain about the future, Schmidt outlines goals in Spring Town Meeting

Last Friday, President Martin A. Schmidt ’81 held the annual Spring Town Meeting at EMPAC, where he addressed his plans for the future of RPI. This is his sixth such meeting since he began as president in 2022. His last town meeting was held last October.

Schmidt began with the situation in Washington, D.C. which has created uncertainty in the administration, with his main concerns regarding slowdowns in funding. Schmidt said the Institute would be “cautious about what’s going to happen.” Schmidt also disclosed his largest concern was the announced National Institutes of Health policy to cap indirect cost reimbursements at 15 percent for all new and existing research grants, which might pose a massive financial hit to the university. Even if this new policy were only instated by the NIH and not other federal agencies, $2-3 million would be lost in funding. These funds normally go towards building repair, upkeep, and other core infrastructure. If the policy were adopted across other federal agencies, Schmidt stated the reduction to the budget could be as high as $12 million.

Schmidt also addressed many of the federal government’s comments surrounding the CHIPS and Science Act. While the Act has come under some fire from the federal administration, he doesn’t believe any resources committed to the CHIPS and Science Act will be reduced.

Under the Trump Administration, there has been a dramatic reduction in the size of staffing in the Department of Education. The Secretary of Education has stated publicly that Pell Grants and student loans will not be eliminated. Schmidt affirmed the administration was cautiously optimistic this would be the case, yet it was still something to monitor.

Schmidt also commented on the arrest of a graduate student at Columbia University, calling it “quite alarming”, yet RPI has continued to maintain good connections with federal agencies. He believes RPI is not on the radar when it comes to any potential federal presence on campus regarding immigrant or international students. Schmidt cited the list published by the Department of Education of the 60 colleges and universities that would be focused on, including Union College, remarking how RPI was not included.

Preparing for this, professors raised the question of what to do if an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent were to show up in a classroom. Schmidt had a very simple answer: “Contact Public Safety.”

Schmidt stated the lower enrollment for this year’s first-year class resulted in a $10 million reduction in the fiscal year budget. This shrinking of the budget has caused Schmidt to put a pause on his plan for faculty regrowth. It was emphasized that the size of the faculty wouldn’t be reduced, but it wouldn’t grow either. He also stated he would not freeze hiring as many other universities had done.

Alumni donations have also increased, according to the president. As of February 2025, gifts to the university are up 30 percent compared to the past five-year average, resulting in roughly $15 million more than the average. Staffing was also being built up in the President’s office and the board operations office.

Schmidt also spoke on the enrollment “funnel” issue, where the number of accepted students admitted each year seems to fluctuate. His method to increase enrollment would be targeting the types of students who would likely want to come to RPI and then getting them to come. Schmidt commended other institutions such as Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Rochester Institute of Technology on how welcoming they were to their admitted students, as well as how they would advertise to potential students. He emphasized the idea of selling RPI to prospective students.

Schmidt also announced that the commencement speakers for the Graduation Ceremony of 2025 will be Dr. Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices and Time’s CEO of the year, as well as RJ Scaringe ’05, founder and CEO of Rivian.

A recording of the full town meeting can be found here.