The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has terminated Fordham University’s $60 million Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program. According to an email sent by President Tania Tetlow, the grant was terminated because “the objectives of the award are no longer consistent with EPA funding priorities.”  

Fordham received the grant in 2023 to fund environmental justice projects in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program was a fixture of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden. 

According to Tetlow, the University received 1,052 applications for grants over the course of six months, surpassing their two-year goal. 

“We are deeply grateful to our elected officials, our contacts at the EPA, community organizations, nonprofit partners, and countless municipalities that supported Fordham in the grant process. With them, our work and our mission will continue,” said Tetlow in her email. 

According to a statement on the Thriving Communities Program website, the University had been fighting this potential termination.

“Fordham made every effort to prevent the grant from being rescinded, including extensive appeals to elected officials, and engagement with the EPA. While that effort wasn’t successful in retaining the grant, it did more deeply connect the University to the communities it seeks to serve,” said the statement.