A slew of executive orders and directives from President Donald Trump that put higher education funding on shaky ground has led Northwestern leadership to announce several immediate measures in response to financial challenges presented by the uncertain political climate.
These measures closely follow the University’s annual financial update released Jan. 16, which underscored several potential financial challenges affecting Northwestern. These obstacles include constraints on tuition and endowment payout revenues, increased expenses related to labor contracts and employee benefits, and potential costs related to federal legislation, research administration, security and litigation.
Thus far, the University’s main political concerns include possible reductions in federal research funding from the National Institutes of Health and Congressional discussions to increase the tax on university endowments.
Though it remains to be seen exactly how policies will affect institutions of higher education, and whether the policies will survive the barrage of legal challenges they are facing, University President Michael Schill detailed several measures, effective immediately, that will “impact almost every part of our University in some way” and prepare the University for potential financial consequences.
These measures emerged out of consultation with University leaders and Board of Trustees leadership, the announcement said.
The University will be reducing non-personnel expense budgets in the current fiscal year by 10%. This process will involve the cooperation of school and unit leadership, the announcement said.
All personnel actions, which may include hiring, compensation increases, additional payments and any other related actions will now be reviewed by University leadership “to ensure they are necessary to the operation of the University and the pursuit of our mission of teaching and research,” the announcement said.
Lastly, expenditures that exceed the amount of $25,000 will now need pre-approval by the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Over the next few days, the announcement said, the University will release more information to help units understand how to respond to the new guidelines. Additionally, University leadership will continue to advocate on behalf of Northwestern and all institutions of higher education, the announcement said.
“We regret that some of the plans and aspirations of members of our community may be constrained, at least for now,” University leadership wrote in the announcement. “While we are doing all we can to advocate for and protect our community, we feel it is necessary to take these steps until further notice to help ensure Northwestern is best positioned to navigate this period of uncertainty without permanent damage to our operations or mission.”
Email: leahschroeder2026@u.northwestern.edu
Twitter: @lmschroeder_
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