This seems drastic for Harvard. They could continue to operate for years without taking in a single penny.
The Harvard Crimson reports:
Harvard Announces Salary and Hiring Freezes, Discretionary Spending Reductions, Potential Deferral of Capital Projects, and Leadership Salary CutsFacing dire economic straits brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic, Harvard is instituting an immediate University-wide salary and hiring freeze, cancelling or deferring discretionary spending, and considering deferring all capital projects, University President Lawrence S. Bacow, Executive Vice President Katherine N. Lapp, and University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 announced in a Monday email to Harvard affiliates.Bacow, Lapp, and Garber will each cut their salaries by 25 percent, per the email. Senior school administrators, including the deans of Harvard’s 12 schools, their vice presidents, and their vice provosts, will also either reduce their salaries or contribute to a support fund for employees experiencing hardship.In the email, Bacow, Lapp, and Garber also addressed the possibility of layoffs or furloughs. The wrote that Harvard is still working to “gain a more complete picture” before deciding whether to take such action.“We will be scrutinizing the FY21 budget to determine what other steps are necessary to respond to the financial impact of the pandemic on our operations. We will communicate with you when more information is available,” they wrote.The coronavirus pandemic has thrown the University into financial turmoil in recent months, incurring unexpected expenses while also cutting revenue sources. Bacow said in an April interview with the Harvard Gazette — a University-run news publication — that the immediate financial effects are “significant.”
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