At least two Ivy League universities abruptly stopped hiring faculty Monday, partly prompted by fear the Trump administration could move forward with plans to make steep financial cuts in research funding.
Both Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania have informed students and staff of the hiring freezes, which became effective immediately.
Harvard University President Alan M. Garber wrote in a memo that the college must limit new long-term commitments that would increase financial exposure.
“We need to prepare for a wide range of financial circumstances, and strategic adjustments will take time to identify and implement,” he wrote to staff members while announcing the temporary pause in hiring.
The hiring freezes come as some of the U.S.’ top institutions of higher learning brace for what could be a loss of millions of dollars in grant funding awarded by the National Institutes of Health for research and studies.
The federal agency, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the largest public funding source for biomedical research in the world, announced last month that it would reduce its federal grant funding in hopes of saving $4 billion.
It said it would cap how much it pays in indirect costs for research, including utilities and administrative staff, at universities and research centers. Multiple lawsuits have been filed since, resulting in a federal judge temporarily blocking the new policy.
The University of Pennsylvania said it was facing a reduction of about $240 million in research funding from NIH grants.
“Changes to federal research funding could significantly reduce our operating budget,” John L. Jackson Jr., the university’s provost, wrote to faculty.
He said policies under consideration in Congress and additional federal proposals could also affect the school’s finances, including reductions in student loan programs and eligibility, and an increase in the excise tax on university endowments.
Several other schools with national prominence, such as the University of Notre Dame and the University of Vermont, have placed a hold on hiring, citing uncertainty with the federal government.
“As we seek to understand the executive orders, federal agency directives and other policy changes announced over the past several weeks, our decision-making will continue to be guided by our mission as a global Catholic research university,” Erin Blasko, a spokesperson with Notre Dame, said in an email.
The University of Vermont said in a statement last week that it would re-evaluate its hiring freeze in 60 days.
In a separate move last week, the Trump administration said it would cancel about $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
That decision came days after the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism informed Columbia it was planning a comprehensive review of the university’s federal grants and contracts.
A Columbia spokesperson said in a statement that the university is committed to combating antisemitism.
