Two of the Department of Homeland Security’s Centers of Excellence have received notices that their scheduled terminations have been paused, seemingly the result of private advocacy by the states’ senators with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Following the cancellation of the agency’s Science and Technology Directorate’s Centers of Excellence program, which set up partnerships with universities to study a diverse body of national security threats, two of the centers have their planned terminations paused: NCITE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and ADAC-ARCTIC at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Each center focuses on developing technology solutions to the nation’s most pressing national security issues. In ADAC-ARCITC’s case, recent projects have included expanding drone operations in the Bering Strait, supporting professional residencies dedicated to Indigenous and Native peoples and enabling broader Arctic education.
Senators from both states confirmed that they held private conversations with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to halt termination efforts for their individual Centers of Excellence.
Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Ark., told Nextgov/FCW that he has had “a number of” conversations with Noem about the strategic importance of a DHS S&T center’s presence in the Arctic.
“After Senator Sullivan heard that funding had been cut for the Center, he reminded Secretary Noem of these conversations,” Amanda Coyne, the communications director for Sullivan told Nextgov/FCW. “Senator Sullivan is grateful that the secretary took immediate action to restore the funds.”
The center, housed in the University of Alaska Anchorage, confirmed to Nextgov/FCW that termination of federal funding has been paused as of early April.
“The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) received notice of termination and stop work on April 8, 2025,” said a spokesperson at the University of Alaska Anchorage. “On April 9, 2025, UAA received notice that award termination is paused. UAA has not received any further guidance from DHS at this time.”
In addition, the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center, housed within University of Nebraska at Omaha had its funding termination reversed following discussions between Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. and Noem.
Ricketts told Nextgov/FCW that a main focus of the NCITE is its research and analysis into cartel activity, how to secure U.S. borders and how to counter related terrorism.
Featuring a consortium of researchers across the U.S. and Europe, NCITE in Nebraska acts as the nerve center for studying modern terrorism threats and what technologies can mitigate them. Some of the recent work to emerge from the NCITE consortium are documents discussing terrorism’s intersection with AI and the metaverse, how terrorists can use drones to cause harm, and how AI could potentially trick critical infrastructure operators.
“I encourage the administration to give their [NCITE’s] work a hard look,” he said.
During a town hall in Scottsbluff, Nebraska on Friday, Ricketts said that he contacted Noem, pitching NCITE as a research hub in line with Trump administration priorities on securing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“[Noem] said ‘I will keep [NCITE] funded through the fiscal year,’” Ricketts said.
Officials from NCITE, as well, confirmed that it is awaiting further information following the pause in funding termination.
“On April 8, the University of Nebraska at Omaha received a notification of award termination from DHS to end all work on its cooperative agreement,” the university told Nextgov/FCW. “A day later, DHS notified the university that the award termination was paused. NCITE and UNO have not received further updates from DHS.”
DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
