Dear faculty and staff colleagues,
We are writing today to assure you of the financial stability of our institution and to be transparent about the steps we are taking to maintain that stability.
Dartmouth’s academic mission and the student experience remain our highest priority and will drive all decision-making. We couldn’t deliver on this promise without you. Your talent and dedication to this institution are our greatest strength. For that reason, we are continuing to invest in our people.
We remain committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits to all employees and will continue to be strategic with recruitment and retention. We are able to do this because of the expertise of our investment and finance teams, the generosity of our donors, and the prudent approach we have taken to the budget.
Since last year, as part of our long-range planning efforts, we have been conducting a thorough analysis of our funding sources and considered potential short- and long-term impacts of changes in federal funding, known and unknown internal and external challenges, opportunities and pressures, and various other financial outcomes.
As one example, and out of an abundance of caution, we have developed a process that will guide the allocation of short-term, emergency “bridge” funding, if needed, in the event that ongoing federal grants are terminated, paused, or otherwise interrupted by an administrative delay. While the bridge funding cannot be a long-term solution, this reflects Dartmouth’s continued commitment to research.
There is little doubt that changes to federal funding or policy will impact Dartmouth financially in some way, but we face these changes on solid ground. In our effort to continue the financial prudence that has served us well, we plan to take the following actions to ensure we are on steady financial footing moving forward:
- Monitor and Slow Discretionary Spending: We encourage academic and administrative units to closely monitor and slow discretionary spending where possible and to be prudent with financial commitments.
- Conservative FY26 Budget Approvals: We anticipate fewer FY26 approvals for new investments, and we expect strategic reductions and reallocation of funds to support priorities.
- Scenario Planning: We are asking that academic and academic-support units develop multiple different financial-planning scenarios.
By taking these steps, we are confident that Dartmouth can be both fiscally responsible and ambitious. We are also constantly exploring new and different ways of doing things that could unlock opportunity, innovation, and efficiency. This is what financially successful organizations do—they think constantly about how to redeploy their resources to push forward their priorities. We encourage all of you to do the same.
Dartmouth is a 255-year-old institution that has weathered disruptive change for centuries and endured as a distinctive leader in the academy. We are confident our trajectory is a positive one and we will continue to thrive. We are in this together and will get through it together.
Sincerely,
David Kotz ’86
Provost
Scott Frew
Chief Financial Officer