Harvard Freezes Hiring Amid Anxiety Over Trump

Updated March 10, 2025, at 11:44 a.m.

Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 announced a University-wide staff and faculty hiring freeze in a message to faculty and staff Monday morning, citing uncertainty under the Trump administration.

Garber wrote that the freeze — which is the most drastic step Harvard has taken in response to new White House orders — is designed to help the University preserve its “financial flexibility until we better understand how changes in federal policy will take shape.”

“It is imperative to limit significant new long-term commitments that would increase our financial exposure and make further adjustments more disruptive,” wrote Garber in an email that was also signed by Harvard Provost John F. Manning ’82, Executive Vice President Meredith L. Weenick ’90, and Chief Financial Officer Ritu Kalra.

The freeze will go into effect immediately across all of Harvard’s schools, but is meant to be temporary, according to the email.

In his Monday message, Garber wrote that he would work with administrators to find ways to tighten their spending.

“We are also asking the leadership of Schools and administrative units 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,” he wrote.

Garber’s message comes less than a week after Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra told faculty to “prepare for significant financial challenges” and “build financial capacity.” Hoekstra said that the University had sent out annual budget guidance earlier in the year that instructed schools to cut costs and diversify revenue streams — a move that Garber reiterated in his Monday email.

“We have asked Schools and units to identify strategic adjustments in their spending to build the long-term capacity needed to advance academic priorities at a time of uncertain revenues,” he wrote.

Harvard is the latest university to hit pause on hiring as the Trump administration puts millions of dollars of federal funding in limbo. In February, both Stanford University and Cornell University announced hiring freezes due to potential cuts in research funding.

And just three days ago, the Trump administration cut $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University over concerns of campus antisemitism — a move that some Harvard affiliates worried would quickly come to Harvard’s doorstep too.

But Garber seemed to promise affiliates in his Monday email that Harvard would fight in Washington against threats to its operations, writing that the University was “working hard to advocate for higher education in our nation’s capital and beyond.”

“Expanding access to higher education for all, preserving academic freedom, and supporting our community’s research, teaching, and learning will always be our highest priorities,” he wrote.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.