University Finances
Harvard Kennedy School To Lay Off Staff Amid Federal Funding Cuts, Endowment Tax Threats
The Harvard Kennedy School is laying off employees and implementing a slew of cost-cutting measures in response to “significant financial challenges” inflicted by the Trump administration, the school’s dean announced in an email to faculty and staff on Wednesday.
Senate Finance Committee Proposal for 8% Endowment Tax Could Cost Harvard $200 Million Per Year
The Senate Finance Committee released proposed changes to the House’s tax and spending bill that would introduce an 8 percent tax on large endowments. Down from the 21 percent rate passed by the House, the proposal would still be a sixfold hike from the 1.4 percent Harvard currently pays.
Stefanik Calls On SEC to Investigate Harvard’s $750 Million Bond Disclosure
Representative Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.) alleged that Harvard should have told bondholders in an April 9 notice to expect financial fallout from defying the Trump administration’s demands. It is not clear that Harvard had already decided to reject the demands at the time of the bond offering.
Harvard Research Cuts Halt More Than 570 Subawards to Other Institutions, Including MGB Hospitals
Harvard will cease funding more than 570 subawards for research at affiliated institutions across 32 states after cuts to federal support, according to a University spokesperson.
Strings Attached: How Harvard’s Wealthiest Alumni Are Reshaping University Giving
Led by Samuel W. Lessin ’05 and the 1636 Forum, Harvard donors are ditching unrestricted giving for targeted donations to shape the University’s future.
Seeking Revenue and Reach, SEAS Sets Its Sights on Expanded Professional Education Programs
The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences aims to expand its professional education programs and increase the programs’ revenue by at least one million dollars by 2030.
A Reluctant Fight: Inside Harvard’s War With Washington
At a campus now used to crisis, Garber’s words found their mark, not for what he said, but for what he seemed to represent: control, clarity, and a kind of reluctant bravery. After trying backchannel conversations with White House officials, a letter — apparently sent by mistake — with unprecedented demands forced Garber’s hand.
After a Semester of Catastrophic Federal Cuts, Researchers at Harvard Are in a ‘Survival State’
Across Harvard’s schools, researchers described a wave of destruction following sweeping terminations of federally funded grants. More than $2.7 billion in cuts have come as part of the Trump administration’s targeted pressure campaign against Harvard.
Trump Took Aim at Harvard. His Facts Sometimes Missed the Mark.
Donald Trump has spent the past two days using his presidential bully pulpit to light into Harvard.
Trump Administration Threatens To Pull Last of Harvard’s Federal Contracts
The Trump administration is prepared to direct federal agencies to cancel an estimated $100 million in remaining federal contracts with Harvard and seek alternative vendors, The New York Times reported Tuesday morning.
House Narrowly Passes GOP Tax Bill Targeting Harvard’s Endowment with 21 Percent Tax
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping Republican-backed tax and spending bill Thursday that would impose a 21 percent tax on Harvard’s endowment returns — the latest in a series of federal measures inflicting harsh financial penalties on the University.
Garber Establishes Presidential Priorities Fund, Calls on Alumni to Back Harvard in Fight with Trump
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 unveiled a new Presidential Priorities Fund in a Monday email and called on alumni and donors to throw their financial and political support behind the University.
HHS Freezes $60 Million in Federal Grants to Harvard in Third Round of Trump Cuts
The United States Department of Health and Human Services cut an additional $60 million in multi-year grants to Harvard over allegations of campus antisemitism and racial discrimination on Monday.
Scores of Researchers Receive Termination Notices After Federal Government Cuts Most Grants to Harvard
More than 100 Harvard researchers received termination notices for federally funded research projects on Thursday, as sweeping cuts to the majority of Harvard’s federal grants begin taking effect across the University’s labs.
Harvard FAS Announces New Funding Program for Research Impacted by Trump Cuts
Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra announced a new program to fund senior and tenure-track FAS professors whose grants have been terminated by the Trump administration in a Friday message.
Harvard Paid Claudine Gay $1.3 Million in 2023, Financial Disclosures Show
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay earned more than $1.3 million in 2023 — which spanned the end of her term as Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean and all six months of her short-lived presidency — according to the University’s annual tax disclosures.
HMC Backs Out of Big Tech, Increases Stakes in Microsoft and Booking at Beginning of 2025
Harvard Management Company pulled back on many of its recent tech investments during the first quarter of 2025 while significantly increasing its stakes in Microsoft and Booking Holdings in a major shakeup of its directly held public equities portfolio.
Trump Doubles Down on Threat to End Harvard’s Tax-Exempt Status
United States President Donald Trump wrote on Friday that he would pull Harvard’s tax-exempt status — his second social media vow to weaponize the Internal Revenue Service in the White House’s standoff with the University.
House Republicans Threaten To Subpoena Harvard in Antitrust Probe, Despite Extended Document Submission Deadline
The House Judiciary Committee is prepared to subpoena Harvard for allegedly failing to submit documents requested as part of an antitrust tuition collusion investigation launched earlier this month, according to a House staffer familiar with the plans.
HMC Plans $1 Billion Sale of Private Equity Stakes
Harvard Management Company is planning to sell nearly $1 billion of private equity fund stakes, liquidating nearly 5 percent of its private equity portfolio amid mounting threats to the University’s finances by its critics in Washington.
Harvard Will Create Process To Centralize Protest Discipline Cases Under University President
Harvard will create a process for University President Alan M. Garber ’76 to call a faculty panel to investigate and impose penalties in cross-school disciplinary cases, Garber announced in a Thursday evening email to Harvard affiliates.
Harvard Asks Judge to Expedite Lawsuit Against Trump Admin, Declines to Request Emergency Injunction
Harvard asked a federal judge to fast-track its legal challenge against the Trump administration’s decision to freeze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts, calling for quick action to mitigate harm to research and academic projects.
Harvard Spends Record Amount on Lobbying in First Quarter of 2025 As It Fends Off Federal Threats
Harvard spent $230,000 on federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2025 — its highest quarterly total since George W. Bush’s presidency — as the University tries to fortify itself against attacks from Congress and the White House.
HSPH Asks Labs To Describe Funding Streams As It Braces for Financial Troubles
The Harvard School of Public Health is asking all research labs to describe their funding streams to determine how to allocate “scarce internal resources” in the wake of the Trump administration’s multibillion dollar cut to federal grants and contracts.
Trump To Cut Another $1 Billion From Harvard Health Research Funding, Wall Street Journal Reports
The Trump administration plans to slash another $1 billion in federal grants and contracts for health research to Harvard, on top of an existing $2.2 billion cut, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.