Boston University will implement new fiscal controls in 2025 to slow the rate of University spending amid U.S. executive changes to federal funding, according to two letters sent to faculty and staff.
“Despite an overall positive financial position, as we look to the future it is essential that we slow spending and focus our resources on our highest priorities,” BU President Melissa Gilliam wrote in a Feb. 20 letter to faculty.
New fiscal controls will include a hold on hiring for certain positions, cost-saving measures like a pause on cosmetic renovations and required memos for external spending and additional compensation requests.
Additionally, BU faculty conducting grant-funded research were informed they may receive stop-work orders from their funding agency due to a Jan. 20 executive order banning all federal diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Two days after the Jan. 20 executive order, the White House called for a funding freeze to conduct an ideological review of all federal grants and loans. Two judges intervened and the White House rescinded the freeze, but the future of grant-funded research in universities across the country is still unclear.
“We’re in a wait and see,” said BU Spokesperson Colin Riley.
Northwestern University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also implemented fiscal reviews, with MIT reporting it may face a loss of $100 million in federal funding, according to GBH News.
Riley said while BU is “extremely well managed” and “strong financially,” administration is unclear on how the recent executive orders will impact funding, if at all.
BU College Republicans President Amanda Lohnes said she isn’t concerned about a potential loss of funding.
“Universities have too much money and the government gives them too much money, and with money comes power,” Lohnes said. “A university now has just become a business and it’s become much less about education and much more about turning a profit, which is unfortunate.”
BU faculty members say they are concerned about how executive orders regarding DEI policies could impact their work.
Maria Olivares, a research assistant professor in the Language and Literacy Education program at Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, is currently conducting grant-funded research. Olivares said she, and other faculty, acknowledge that “any day” they may receive a stop work order.
“It poses a real threat, not only to my professional work and my research, it also presents a real threat to my livelihood,” Olivares said.
Olivares’ research is focused on confronting and dismantling barriers to allow a more diverse student body to participate in STEM fields.
“The whole reason that we have grant funding for different projects is because we have devised approaches to help us address critical issues in education,” Olivares said. “If we were awarded a grant, it’s because the project, the idea, the impact, [were] deemed important and critical to improving educational experiences, educational opportunities and outcomes.”
Riley said BU is monitoring the situation to ensure BU complies with the law, but the University remains committed to its work as a research institution.
“[Research] is the strength of the University,” Riley said. “It’s a benefit to society, but at the same time, we will comply with the law and see how it goes.”
Law professor Cornelius Hurley said BU may be at a “crossroads” with upholding its values as an institution while complying with federal guidelines.
“Sometimes you are forced to make a decision between what is legal and what is right, and they are not always the same thing,” Hurley said.
