Dear faculty and staff colleagues,
We write today with an update on Dartmouth’s financial situation. While we are grateful that we currently remain on solid financial ground, each school and division has been asked to develop a menu of possible actions, as we wrote in March, to reduce expenses that range in magnitude from modest belt-tightening to more significant structural changes. This planning continues in the face of continued uncertainty around the future of federal funding, the size of an endowment tax increase, and elevated costs more generally. We also believe that it is always healthy for Dartmouth to review how it spends its resources, and we should work to ensure that funding is principally allocated to our core teaching and research mission.
We still don’t know how key revenues and expenses will change in the coming year, but we must be ready for changes when they do occur. We are encouraged that the Association of American Universities’ legal efforts to fight federal agency indirect costs caps have paused implementation of those cuts to research funding in four cases. Likewise, the Senate’s proposed endowment tax—released last week—is significantly lower than the House’s version. That said, the situation remains highly fluid. The legal challenges will continue, Congress will continue negotiations, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Dartmouth and for all of higher education.
We remain confident in our ability to provide short-term bridge funding to lessen the impact of federal grant pauses and cancellations, to support international community members who need legal counsel, and to provide merit increases and other valuable benefits to our employees.
We will also continue to keep you informed about how Dartmouth is affected by changes to our funding model and how we are advocating for our mission with stakeholders in Washington, D.C.—increasingly with the help of our global alumni network. Please visit our new Speak Up for Dartmouth page, which includes information on Dartmouth’s impact in the world, our advocacy efforts, and how you can also get involved.
Sincerely,
David Kotz ’86
Provost
Scott Frew
Chief Financial Officer