NYU implements hiring freeze in advance of potential Trump admin funding cuts

New York University (NYU) has imposed a hiring freeze and directed its subsidiary schools to prepare contingency plans in case it loses federal funding. According to NYU’s student newspaper, the Washington Square News, on Wednesday the Trump administration announced it would investigate NYU over its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

On Monday, NYU President Linda Mills wrote in an email to faculty and staff, “We don’t yet know whether, when or to what extent these or other measures may be enacted,” concerning changes to policy or programs in response to the cuts. She added, “In the meantime, we continue to vigorously advocate for robust federal support of higher education. Given the scale of potential outcomes, however, we need to address risks sooner than later.”

Mills also warned faculty to expect lower salary increases than in recent years, and that the university is considering other methods of generating revenue to “help offset likely losses.” She concluded the letter by writing, “Despite the fiscal challenges ahead, we are committed to preserving our core mission of teaching, learning, and research, and to supporting our community.”

Last week, the Department of Education announced that NYU and dozens of other universities across the US were being investigated for their diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and that any school that continued its DEI content was at risk of losing federal funding.

NYU is also at risk of losing money from the National Institutes of Health and other federal research grants which account for 11 percent of NYU’s total operating revenue.

Since the beginning of the month, federal agencies have revoked hundreds of millions of dollars from Columbia University for failing to address allegations of rampant antisemitism on campus, as well as the University of Pennsylvania for continuing to allow men to compete in women’s sports. NYU now joins Columbia, Cornell University, and the University of Washington in implementing hiring freezes in response.