Harvard University will allow schools to resume merit-based pay raises for the 2026-27 fiscal year, marking a partial recovery in some parts of the institution after last year’s federal funding cuts. According to gave Harvard Crimsonthe Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Business School, and the Harvard School of Public Health will provide salary increases in the coming year. Other schools have also been offered increases at their discretion, a university spokesperson said. Spokespeople for several graduate schools would not confirm whether they would follow suit.
Background: Funding cuts and austerity measures
Harvard suspended merit-based raises in April of last year after the federal government froze $2.2 billion in funding for the university. The move was part of a wider cost-cutting initiative. Since then, several schools have implemented it Dismissalspending cuts and programs reviewed. The university continues to operate under a hiring freeze.
Details of salary increase
At the Harvard Kennedy School, Executive Dean Josh McIntosh said eligible non-union staff will receive a three percent increase in base pay starting July 1. McIntosh said there were “significant financial challenges and a pause in salary increases” over the past year Harvard Crimson. At Harvard Business School, staff reported a three percent merit increase for fiscal year 2027. The school did not specify the eligibility criteria. A spokeswoman for the Harvard School of Public Health confirmed that faculty, academic appointments and non-union staff will receive salary increases. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences will also resume merit-based raises, spokesman James M. Chisholm confirmed.
Ongoing restructuring and cutbacks.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is preparing for an administrative restructuring that will centralize functions and eliminate positions. The division is managing a $365 million structural deficit. Over the past year, it has cut graduate admissions, cut non-tenure-track faculty budgets and put capital projects on hold. Other schools have also reduced staff. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences cut around 40 posts in October, including some in clerical and technical union roles. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study announced additional layoffs, including layoffs and the elimination of vacant positions. Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagan said the measures followed “a wide range of federal measures targeting Harvard, cost pressures and market volatility.” Harvard Crimson Reports
Financial perspectives and legal challenges
Federal funding resumed in September after a court ruling reversed an earlier freeze. However, Harvard reported an operating loss in October, its first since the Covid-19 period. A higher federal endowment tax will take effect in July, adding more pressure. The university is embroiled in legal disputes with the federal government. An appeal has been filed against the September ruling, and the Justice Department has launched a separate lawsuit to recover the research grant funding. The reintroduction of merit-based increases occurs as various parts of the university continue to adapt to these financial and legal circumstances.
