Rep. Johnny Olszewski is steering nearly seven figures in federal cash to Loyola University Maryland, with roughly $1 million earmarked to modernize forensic lab gear and launch a new forensic technology training center for students and local law enforcement. The funding appears in newly released FY26 appropriations documents and has been described in local coverage as about $1 million, with city and university officials framing it as a way to boost hands-on training and research at Loyola’s Baltimore campus.
How much and who secured it
Federal appropriations paperwork lists a Loyola forensics project with a conference amount of $965,000 and names Rep. Johnny Olszewski as the requestor, according to the House Appropriations Committee. Local reporting on an on-campus announcement described a Maryland congressman presenting the roughly $1 million figure and said the money will cover upgraded lab equipment and a training hub for law enforcement, per CBS Baltimore.
What the money will buy
Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s FY26 summary of Congressionally Directed Spending labels the Loyola project a “Forensic Technology Training Center,” noting that the dollars will go toward new forensic-sciences technology and equipment and will support training for students, researchers, and law enforcement, with the item listed at about $965,000, according to Sen. Van Hollen’s office. The FY26 package also sets aside separate funding for upgrades at Loyola’s Donnelly Science Center, a sign of broader STEM investment on campus.
Why this matters for Baltimore
Across the country, forensic labs are feeling the squeeze from bigger caseloads and more complex technology demands, a combination that has fueled testing backlogs and slower turnaround times, a trend local officials say the new training capacity is meant to help address, as national reporting has noted. Stateline has chronicled those pressures, and federal programs such as the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction (CEBR) initiative are designed to bolster lab capacity, according to program guidance cited by Forensics TTA.
What Loyola will gain and next steps
Loyola already runs undergraduate and graduate forensic science programs that emphasize hands-on, case-ready lab experience, with curricula developed in consultation with local and state practitioners, according to Loyola University Maryland. The new award is listed in FY26 appropriations materials, and the actual rollout, from disbursement to construction and training timelines, will follow standard federal award procedures alongside the university’s implementation plans.
