Northwestern University announces hiring freeze, other cutbacks amid federal funding freeze
Northwestern University is making cutbacks and other financial moves following a freeze of federal funding by the Trump administration.
In a letter issued Tuesday, officials announced reductions to administrative and academic budgets, likely leading to decreases in staff positions.
The university also put a hiring freeze in place, and will not pay out merit bonuses.
Officials are also reviewing planned spending for building and system upgrades.
Northwestern cited "potential federal changes — including but not limited to a substantial increase in the endowment tax, constraints on our ability to enroll international students, caps on indirect cost recovery, and a likely reduction in overall federal research funding," as reasons for its financial struggles.
In April, the Trump administration froze $790 million in federal funding at Northwestern. The freeze affected grants from agencies like defense, agriculture, and health and human services.
Northwestern was one of several universities subjected to of what the Department of Education calls "explosions of antisemitism" on college campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. The initial report cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects individuals from discrimination based on national origin and applies to schools and institutions of higher learning that receive federal funding.
