University Finances
Harvard Proposes Yearlong Wage Freeze to Custodians Amid Financial Headwinds
Harvard proposed freezing custodian wages for the next year in a contract proposal to their union on Thursday to try to cut labor costs across worker groups as it navigates financial uncertainty.
Harvard Faculty Question Whether Steep Ph.D. Cuts Are Necessary
Some Harvard faculty said they were frustrated with the recent reductions in Ph.D. admission numbers at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, even as some accepted the cuts as a difficult but necessary step for the University's finances.
Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Runs a $350 Million Structural Deficit
Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences is running an estimated structural deficit of approximately $350 million, a major shortfall that will require a dramatic reworking of its budget, FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra announced in an email to affiliates Tuesday afternoon.
Harvard’s FAS Is Running a $365 Million Structural Deficit. The Problems Started Well Before Trump.
Underlying financial weaknesses set Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences on the path toward its estimated $365 million structural deficit, even before the Trump administration pushed its finances to a breaking point, according to projections presented by a faculty committee on Tuesday.
Harvard Continues Record Spending on Lobbying in Third Quarter of 2025
Harvard spent $220,000 lobbying the federal government between July and September, continuing a year-long surge in federal advocacy spending as the University faces sustained financial threats from Washington, according to disclosures filed last week.
Harvard Lays Off Student Advisers and Lecturers in SEAS Cuts
Nearly a dozen positions that directly support students were among those eliminated in a sweeping round of layoffs at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences earlier this month, according to a document obtained by The Crimson.
Harvard Reports First Deficit Since Pandemic in Fiscal Year 2025, Sees 12% Endowment Growth
Harvard reported an operating loss of $113 million — its first budget deficit since 2020 — as its financial footing shakes from disruptions to federal funding, even as the total value of its endowment grew by 11.9 percent to $56.9 billion, according to its fiscal year 2025 financial report.
Current-Use Donations to Harvard Hit Record $629 Million in Fiscal Year 2025
Harvard received a record-breaking $629 million in current-use donations during fiscal year 2025, representing a 19 percent increase from last year and the largest total in University history, according to the annual financial report released on Thursday.
A Majority of Frozen Federal Funding Has Been Restored, Harvard Says
Harvard has now received payments on the majority of funding that it lost since the Trump administration froze its access to federal grants this spring, the University notified faculty this month.
Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Lays Off 25% of HUCTW Staff
Harvard will lay off roughly 25 percent of staff represented by its clerical and technical workers’ union at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and reorganize several offices in response to mounting funding pressures, according to the union.
Construction Underway for Economics Department’s Pritzker Hall
Professors in the department said they hope the new space, which is expected to open in December 2027, will provide a much needed upgrade and allow more collaboration between students and professors.
Grad Union Stands to Make More Than $1 Million in Annual Dues if Agency Shop Proposal Passes
When Harvard removed more than 900 students from the graduate student union’s bargaining unit in July, the union lost not just 450 official members, but $20,000 in monthly union fees.
HHS Takes Steps Toward Revoking Harvard’s Access to Federal Grants and Contracts
The Trump administration launched proceedings on Monday that could bar Harvard from doing business with the federal government, opening a new front in its escalating fight with the University just weeks after a federal judge ordered $2.7 billion in frozen research funding restored.
Penny Pritzker Says She Has ‘Absolutely No Idea’ How Trump Talks Will Conclude
Harvard Corporation senior fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 said on Sunday that the Trump administration had pushed for a $500 million settlement to resolve its six-month standoff with the University — but cast doubt on whether Harvard was considering the sum.
6 Months Behind Schedule, Harvard Endowment’s Annual Climate Report Is Nowhere to be Seen
Harvard Management Company has not published its annual climate report six months after its expected release, and officials won’t say whether Harvard will continue providing annual updates on its progress in achieving net-zero endowment emissions by 2050.
Education Department Puts Harvard Under Financial Monitoring, Saying Federal Investigations Create Risk
The Education Department put Harvard under heightened financial oversight on Friday, saying its finances are unstable as a result of the Trump administration’s own penalties.
Harvard Medical School to Cut 20 Percent of Research Spending, Dean Says in Annual Address
Harvard Medical School Dean George Q. Daley ’82 said the University’s central administration had instructed him to cut spending on the Medical School’s research enterprise by at least 20 percent by the end of the fiscal year in his annual State of the School address Wednesday morning.
Beyond the Lab: Trump’s Funding Cuts Hit Humanities Research at Harvard
A database with pigment analysis of more than 300 Asian paintings. The authoritative dictionary of the Latin language, curated since the 1890s and spanning 1,200 years of inscriptions. A library of translated Ukrainian literature, launched just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Harvard’s Austerity Measures Put Library Renovations on Hold
Harvard has paused plans to renovate four University libraries ahead of its 400th anniversary in 2036 as part of a temporary halt to capital projects amid an ongoing fight with the White House over federal funding.
Memorial Church Reduces Programming Amid University Budget Cuts
Memorial Church will limit its student programs and public events as a result of University-wide budget cuts, according to Memorial Church Pusey Minister Matthew Ichihashi Potts.
Center for Latin American Studies To Close Chile, Mexico Offices
Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies will close its office in Santiago, Chile at the end of this year and allow its office lease in Mexico City to expire this month because of a strained budget.
Federal Agencies Begin Notifying Harvard Researchers of Reinstated Funds
Federal agencies have begun to inform Harvard researchers that they are reinstating portions of research funding frozen since the Trump administration’s pause on $2.7 billion in grants and contracts in the spring, according to a Harvard spokesperson on Wednesday evening.
Harvard Funding Cuts Endanger the Massive Fruit Fly Database That Powers Genetic Research
FlyBase lost a multimillion dollar grant when the Trump administration cut off Harvard’s federal funding in May. Now the repository is laying off staff — and researchers worldwide are worried.
Harvard Docks Course Assistant Pay, Cuts Back on Undergraduate Hiring
Harvard College cut course assistant pay in some departments by $2 and has begun reducing teaching assistant positions for undergraduates amid University-wide budget cuts.
After Court Restores Research Funding, Trump Still Has Paths to Target Harvard
Harvard won a milestone legal victory on Wednesday when a judge struck down the Trump administration’s freeze on $2.7 billion in federal funds — but government agencies still have options to keep federal dollars out of the University’s hands.