Over the past several weeks, we have been working with members of University leadership at the Cabinet level to identify expense reductions to offset expected losses in Brown’s budget from ongoing federal impacts. As we shared with the community in August, several developments over the summer lessened, but have not eliminated, the negative impact of federal actions on Brown’s operating budget. Beyond the $29 million deficit in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget approved by the Corporation of Brown University in May, the University’s projected additional losses for FY26 total $30 million.

One of the most significant decisions in developing the strategy to close this additional $30 million budget gap was to evenly divide budget measures between central University actions to reduce expenses by $15 million and giving academic and administrative units the discretion to decide how and where to reduce spending in their own areas to achieve the remaining $15 million in reductions. We write today to share the outcome of this budget process we announced last month.

To achieve the $15 million in cuts, the deans and vice presidents who oversee operations of academic and administrative departments and offices across the University were given revised FY26 budget targets that, together, will achieve an overall target of a 2.5% reduction in Brown expenses across units. The amount of the reductions varied from unit to unit, with academic initiatives and revenue generation activities given consideration for lower reduction targets. Unit leaders were given flexibility to meet their assigned reductions in alignment with their missions, goals and operational realities.

We recognized that unit-level plans would inevitably involve some reductions in the size of Brown’s staff, and we encouraged unit leaders, where possible, to focus on eliminating budgeted but currently vacant positions, rather than eliminating filled positions through layoffs.

Overall Impact of Unit-Level Budget Decisions

We are deeply grateful for the thoughtful and strategic approach that units brought to this process. Unit heads were asked to identify reductions that were not just temporary, but truly resulted in long-term (i.e., structural) cost savings. The decisions they made were not easy, but they worked to align their proposed reductions with institutional priorities, the needs of their units and supporting Brown’s core academic mission of education and research. 

As a result of these efforts, the following actions will be implemented to achieve the $15 million in unit-level reductions:

• Operating cost reductions across units, including decreased travel, reduced spending on external vendors and consulting, less discretionary spending on equipment, activities, tools and resources, and shifts to restricted funding sources.
• Elimination of 55 unfilled budgeted positions, which will no longer be pursued following the end of Brown’s hiring freeze.
• Layoffs affecting 48 filled positions across campus, for which impacted employees will be notified starting this week.

For any unit-level decision to end a filled position, a committee comprising administrators from University Human Resources, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of General Counsel, and Office of Equity Compliance and Reporting first reviewed each proposal to ensure legal compliance and adherence to University policies.

We want to acknowledge the gravity of these measures for those directly affected by layoffs and for their colleagues. The University will provide support to impacted employees, including severance packages and outplacement services. We are committed to ensuring that this transition will be handled with empathy and care, and ensuring that each person is supported and treated respectfully throughout the process. In addition, we are committed to helping individuals explore opportunities for placement in other open positions at Brown wherever possible.

We recognize that these reductions come after a very uncertain and challenging period of financial decision-making. When the Corporation approved the FY26 budget in May, it already included significant reductions across the University, including the elimination of approximately 90 mostly vacant positions. Many units worked carefully to meet those earlier targets, and we understand that this most recent exercise required an additional layer of difficult decisions.

Operating cost reductions will inevitably create challenges for some units and will affect service levels across campus. Multiple units have developed plans for decreased service levels to reduce expenses, and these changes represent a shared commitment to placing Brown on stronger financial footing. We want to reiterate what we shared in August: As some units reconsider how they work, we all have an important role in supporting these efforts as a community. It will be necessary for all of us to prepare to shift expectations of the ways we have worked with colleagues from other departments and offices in the past, particularly as units reorganize or restructure their operations.

Central Budget Actions to Offset Losses

While we recognize that any number of layoffs will be felt deeply by our community, the layoffs in individual units have enabled us thus far to avoid budget actions that would have called for mass layoffs across Brown. 

The following developments over recent months reduced the threat to Brown’s finances far below what the University feared at the beginning of the summer: Brown’s July agreement with the government resolving federal compliance reviews and restoring funding from the National Institutes of Health; the intervention by the courts halting efforts to impose new research funding limits; and clarity surrounding components of the federal tax and spending bill (Brown will not see the feared increase in taxes on its endowment and other investment income in FY26). As a result, the $15 million in central actions we will take to close the budget gap (supplementing the $15 million in unit-level reductions) is far less than the federal impact we feared two months ago, which ranged from $40 million to well over $100 million for FY26.

We will take five central actions announced in August to achieve the approximate $15 million in savings at the university-wide level. All five of these actions have been aligned with steps that will contribute to ongoing efforts to reduce Brown's structural operating deficit:

• Consolidating health plans to a single provider
• Monetizing non-strategic real estate holdings on College Hill and in the Jewelry District
• Temporarily pausing spending on plans to move the University to net-zero emissions
• Making modest, temporary reductions in information technology and facilities renewal
• Prioritizing fundraising for current-use gifts that have an immediate positive budgetary impact

The campus-wide freezes on hiring, travel and discretionary spending are no longer in effect. Now that individual units have received approval for their expense reductions, the budgets provided to units are considered their official spending authority for FY26. The cost savings the University realized with the temporary freezes now are being achieved by the permanent 2.5% reductions in expenditures across units. That said, some units may choose to maintain their own measures to moderate spending as they prepare for Fiscal Year 2027 planning.

Looking Ahead

We remain profoundly grateful for the commitment, creativity and care that faculty and staff have brought to these financial planning activities. At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge that financial uncertainty remains. Because we expect federal impacts for all colleges and universities to deepen in FY27 and beyond, we anticipate the need to provide budget guidance for FY27 that incorporates further adjustments when that process begins in the coming months.

We know that this uncertainty makes planning difficult, and we are committed to continuing to share information as it becomes available and supporting our community in navigating the path ahead. Your contributions are essential to sustaining Brown’s excellence during a time of significant change.

Thank you for the dedication you continue to demonstrate every day as we move forward together.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson, President
Francis J. Doyle III, Provost
Sarah Latham, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration