Dear Stanford community,

We are in the process of developing Stanford’s budget for the 2025-26 academic year. This work is occurring as potential financial uncertainties are mounting for universities across the United States.

Most recently, as you know, the National Institutes of Health sought to dramatically reduce the payments it makes to universities for the indirect costs associated with research. Though this is currently under review by the courts, a cut of this magnitude would have a significant negative budget impact at Stanford. There is also uncertainty about the level of direct federal funding for scientific research as agencies like NIH and NSF face cuts.

In addition, there are Congressional proposals to expand the current endowment tax paid by universities including Stanford. This too would negatively affect Stanford’s finances, because the annual payout from the endowment forms a crucial part of our yearly budget. In particular, the endowment supports roughly two-thirds of the budget for undergraduate and graduate financial aid, as well as a significant portion of faculty salaries, research, and key programs like libraries and student services. Taken together, these are very significant risks to the university.

We have more work to do on our next budget, and we will learn more in the coming months about the outcomes of the various federal policy proposals. Given the uncertainty, we need to take prudent steps to limit spending and ensure that we have flexibility and resilience.

To better prepare us to meet these challenges, we are implementing a freeze on staff hiring in the university. Critically needed positions may be approved by the cognizant dean, vice president, or vice provost, though these situations should be limited. Similarly, hiring may continue for positions that are fully funded through externally-sponsored research awards; please confirm these hires with the cognizant dean’s office. The freeze does not apply to faculty positions, contingent employees (temporary and casual), or student workers.

We will be in further touch as the budget for next year develops. In the meantime, we do urge that new financial commitments be given careful consideration in the current environment.

Stanford is a financially healthy and resilient institution, and prudent planning now will enable us to best support our students, the research of our faculty, and the dedicated and talented staff who support our mission.

Thank you for all you do to support and advance the work of Stanford.