NSF eliminated Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM, fired all 65 staff in reduction-in-force

On May 9, 2025, NSF Chief Management Officer Micah Cheatham circulated an internal memo announcing the full elimination of the agency's Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM by July 12 via a reduction-in-force. All 65 permanent EES staff were slated for termination. The same memo disclosed the elimination of 84 of NSF's 143 Senior Executive Service positions and a cut in the temporary workforce from 368 to 70—a reduction of roughly 37 percent of NSF's total staff. NSF publicly announced the EES sunset on its website that day, then removed the EES page from the site.

EES housed programs established by Congress to expand STEM participation among underrepresented groups. These included the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), which has funded partnerships between universities to increase minority students' graduation rates in STEM fields for decades, and programs created under the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Opportunities Act for students with disabilities and underrepresented minorities. NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan had resigned in February 2025 under pressure from the administration, leaving the agency without permanent leadership during the restructuring.

The elimination of EES bypassed the standard legislative process for ending congressionally mandated programs: Congress created and funded these programs by statute, but the administration wound them down administratively through a federal workforce reduction rather than pursuing repeal. A federal court later temporarily blocked implementation of the reduction-in-force. The action is part of a broader executive effort to eliminate diversity-focused units and programs across federal science agencies.