Harvard President Voluntarily Cuts Salary by 25 Percent
University Freezes New Hiring and Delays Bonuses Amid Funding Suspension
Symbolic Gesture as Harvard Faces Financial Strain from Trump Administration’s Halt of Federal Aid
The president of Harvard University, a prestigious American institution that has faced conflicts with the Donald Trump administration resulting in a suspension of government funding, has voluntarily reduced his salary by 25%.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on May 14 (local time), Harvard University announced that President Alan Garber's salary will be reduced by 25% starting July 1, when the next fiscal year begins. Although President Garber, who took office last year, has not disclosed his exact annual salary, previous presidents reportedly received about $1 million (approximately 1.4 billion KRW) per year. If President Garber's salary is at a similar level, he will receive about $250,000 less in the next fiscal year.
This measure appears to be related to recent financial issues at Harvard University. Previously, the Trump administration canceled federal funding worth several trillion KRW for Harvard. The Trump administration, citing anti-Israel protests on campus, demanded that Harvard abolish its DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies, and also requested government oversight authority over admissions policies and faculty hiring. In response, Harvard University rejected these demands, stating that excessive government intervention threatened academic freedom. Subsequently, the Trump administration suspended federal research funding for Harvard amounting to $2.6 billion.
Regarding President Garber's salary reduction, the Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper, commented that "although the scale of the funding cuts amounts to billions of dollars and the president's salary reduction may not provide significant financial relief, it carries symbolic meaning in sharing the university's financial difficulties." Prior to Harvard, Brown University President Christina Paxson announced last month that she would reduce her salary by 10%. Brown University was notified of the cancellation of $510 million in federal funding. In addition, Harvard University has postponed performance-based bonuses for faculty and staff and has suspended new staff hiring. Furthermore, 90 tenured professors at Harvard voluntarily proposed a 10% salary reduction to the university administration.
Meanwhile, Harvard University announced that it would allocate $250 million in the next fiscal year to fill the gap created by the suspension of federal research funding. Although Harvard holds an endowment of about $53 billion, it is reportedly unable to use it freely due to usage restrictions.
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