US Embassy (London) / British Association for American Studies Small Grants Programme
The BAAS / US Embassy Small Grants Programme has been cancelled.
Members of the American Studies community will be aware that the Trump administration has issued a number of executive orders in recent weeks, including one on 20 January 2025 “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.” In conversations with colleagues at the US Embassy London, BAAS was given the opportunity to amend the small grants programme to remove any criteria or goals relating to equality, diversity or inclusion, or to have the grant terminated.
BAAS remains absolutely committed to our principles of equality, diversity and inclusion, and we are not willing to compromise on these issues. As such, the Executive Committee agreed to cancel the grant with immediate effect.
As BAAS celebrates our 70th anniversary, it is worth noting that as an organisation we have a long history of having to negotiate our relationship with the US government. In 1955 the founders of BAAS agreed that the independence of American Studies scholars was more important than any funding that the State Department could offer, and this is a principle that we are proud to maintain today.