Important Financial Update
Dear Members of Boston University’s Faculty and Staff,
In the spring, we announced that we would need to make budget cuts throughout the University due to the hard reality that, like many of our peer institutions across the country, we continue to face financial headwinds. At that time, we took the preliminary step of pausing merit increases.
Recent and ongoing federal actions and funding cuts are affecting our research enterprise as well as day-to-day operations. Uncertainty remains about the full extent of potential challenges to our core mission of teaching, learning, and research. As we take part in a national renegotiation of how the country’s higher education model will be funded, universities face other pressures such as rising inflation, changing demographics, declining graduate enrollment, and the need to adapt to new technologies.
Following that initial budget announcement, academic and administrative units participated in an exercise to reduce budgets as part of our Fiscal Year 2026 planning. This exercise is now complete: The University will implement an average 5% budget reduction across all units for FY2026. This will allow us to fulfill our mission at the highest level while reducing spending to align with revenue.
While we have worked hard to minimize impacts on our community, today we share the difficult news of layoffs. In coming days, the University will eliminate about 120 staff positions and about 120 vacancies. In addition, around 20 positions will undergo a change in schedule. Every effort has been made to limit the number of layoffs, and these actions will apply to approximately 1% of our employees. Still, we know that any reduction in staffing is painful.
Supervisors and Human Resources colleagues will meet with impacted individuals. Once this process is complete, schools, colleges, and unit leaders will inform their respective communities of the budget cuts and decisions made in each area.
Please know that these determinations were not made lightly and that we are committed to supporting our colleagues through this transition. Those leaving will be provided separation packages and career transitional services. We are profoundly grateful to all those involved and to the teams who are supporting them with care and respect during this transition. Resources for managers and staff are available through Human Resources business partners, the Faculty & Staff Assistance Office, and other campus programs.
This is a day of loss for all of us. There is no way around this. We know our community may need time to adjust to these difficult changes. Yet, it is also a necessary step in ensuring our future. Across our campuses, teams are already working hard to position Boston University to thrive. Over the coming months, there will be many efforts to reshape and reimagine the University in its most efficient and vital form.
Deans and unit leaders will soon share their FY2026 budgets, and while more uncertainty and challenges may come, we are optimistic that creativity and openness to new models will enable us to meet the current moment and our future.
We are grateful for the dedication, compassion, and integrity you bring to your work every day. We remain steadfast in our mission and confident in the collective talent and dedication of our community.
Thank you for all that you do to support Boston University and one another.
Sincerely,
Melissa Gilliam
President
Gloria Waters
University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Nicole Tirella
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer
Derek Howe
Senior Vice President, Operations