BAAS regrets to announce that 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.  

We know how important this financial support has been in recent years for the American Studies community, and that this will be disappointing news for those who were planning to apply for this funding stream to support projects that would have brought new audiences to our discipline and expand the reach of American Studies scholarship.  

While BAAS is not in a position to provide the same level of financial support as the US Embassy, we are planning to expand the budget of our Development Fund for this year, in order to support as many members of our community as possible. The deadlines for the Development Fund are 1 April and 1 November every year. We also strongly encourage BAAS members to apply for grants and awards offered by the European Association of American Studies. 

If you would like to support this work, and are in a position to do so, we’d like to ask all members of the American Studies community to consider donating to BAAS. We are a registered charity, and any donations would support activities like the Development Fund, as well as our awards, schools work, and conferences. You can donate via our website and you can set up either a one-off or a recurring donation. Even small donations can make a big difference. 

American Studies is as vital as it has ever been.  

Yours,  

Dr Lydia Plath 

BAAS Chair