Harvard extends hiring freeze, says Trump actions could cost school $1B a year

Yahoo

20-07-2025

Harvard University announced to its staff Monday that the hiring freeze it enacted earlier this year would continue — and gave a reckoning of what Trump administration actions are expected to cost the school.
It could come to about $1 billion a year, Harvard administrators said.
In an email sent to staff on Monday, obtained by MassLive, Harvard University administrators listed federal actions that have hit Harvard's bottom line, including canceled research grants and contracts, reductions to the budgets of the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and the threat of ending Harvard's ability to accept foreign students.
Most recently, President Donald Trump's signature on the law known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill' dramatically increased a tax on income from Harvard's endowment.
The endowment tax increase, from 1.4% to as high as 8%, stands to hit Harvard particularly hard, as nearly 40% of the university's yearly operating budget comes from that source, administrators told staff in the email.
'The combined impact of these and other federal actions on Harvard's budget could approach $1 billion annually,' administrators wrote.
The letter says leadership hopes to prevail in Harvard's multiple legal challenges underway against the Trump administration, in particular about canceled funding and over Harvard accepting foreign students. The university is also exploring alternate sources of funding, including adding $250 million to a research continuity fund.
'As that work proceeds, we also need to prepare for the possibility that the lost revenues will not be restored anytime soon,' the letter continues.
Leadership in each school at Harvard has been tasked with cutting spending and making operations more efficient, according to the letter.
The hiring freeze at Harvard will continue except in 'extraordinary cases,' which include 'positions essential to fulfilling the terms of gift- or grant-funded projects,' administrators wrote.
'The unprecedented challenges we face have led to disruptive changes, painful layoffs and ongoing uncertainty about the future,' the letter says. 'As we meet these challenges together, we will continue to benefit from our commitment to one another and the commitment of Harvard and every research university to serving the nation and the world through our core mission of teaching, learning, and research.'
The letter is signed by Harvard President Alan Garber, Provost John Manning, Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick and Chief Financial Officer Ritu Kalra.
The Trump administration has targeted Harvard in multiple ways over the past six months, stating that the university failed to adequately counter antisemitism on campus.
The message to staff comes amid reports that Harvard and the Trump administration are in negotiations on a deal.
More Harvard University news
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A reckoning: Trump's attacks are inspiring self-reflection in higher ed
Harvard continues dismantling its DEI offices amid Trump attacks
Trump admin renews demand for Harvard foreign student info: 'We tried to do things the easy way'
Read the original article on MassLive.