Harvard University says it is freezing hiring for faculty and staff amid financial “uncertainties” driven by the Trump administration.
“Universities throughout the nation face substantial financial uncertainties driven by rapidly shifting federal policies,” President Alan Garber said in a community message on Monday.
In preparation for the “wide range of financial circumstances,” he added, the school has decided to immediately “implement a temporary pause on staff and faculty hiring across the University.”
Garber stressed the pause is temporary but could last as long as to the end of the semester.
Positions that are essential to fulfilling funding obligations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and the leadership in different Harvard schools is asked to “scrutinize discretionary and non-salary spending, reassess the scope and timing of capital renewal projects, and conduct a rigorous review of any new multi-year commitments.”
The announcement comes after the Trump administration said it is revoking $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University due to the Ivy League school’s alleged inaction against antisemitism and threatening to take more.
The administration has also threatened to pull funding for schools engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion practices, but hasn’t yet specifically gone after colleges over the programs.
While universities have to a large extent not spoken out publicly against the threats made to higher education, Garber told the Harvard community that university leadership is “working hard to advocate for higher education in our nation’s capital and beyond.”
Harvard has also been a target of Republicans over its handling of the pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism on campus, with former President Claudine Gay resigning in part over her handling of the issue.
