Stanford Freezes Hiring

<p>Stanford University has implemented a staff hiring freeze due to uncertainties in federal funding and potential tax hikes on university endowments&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Many of the nation&&num;8217&semi;s top schools have also temporarily paused hiring including MIT&comma; University of California&comma; Harvard&comma; Notre Dame&comma; University of Pennsylvania&comma; Cornell&comma; Notre Dame&comma; University of Washington and more&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The National Institutes of Health is looking to dramatically reduce the payments it makes to universities for the indirect costs associated with research&period; Though this is currently under review by the courts&comma; a cut of this magnitude would have a significant negative budget impact at Stanford&period; There is also uncertainty about the level of direct federal funding for scientific research as agencies like NIH and NSF face cuts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There are also Congressional proposals to expand the current endowment tax paid by universities including Stanford&period; This too would negatively affect Stanford’s finances&comma; because the annual payout from the endowment forms a crucial part of the school&&num;8217&semi;s yearly budget&period; In particular&comma; the endowment supports roughly two-thirds of the budget for undergraduate and graduate financial aid&comma; as well as a significant portion of faculty salaries&comma; research&comma; and key programs like libraries and student services&period; Taken together&comma; these are very significant risks to the university&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Stanford&&num;8217&semi;s total endowment was &dollar;42&period;8 billion as of June 30&comma; 2024&comma; with an 8&period;4&percnt; return over the past year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Stanford says critically needed positions may still be approved by the dean&comma; vice president&comma; or vice provost&comma; though these situations should be limited&period; Similarly&comma; hiring may continue for positions that are fully funded through externally-sponsored research awards&period; The freeze does not apply to faculty positions&comma; contingent employees &lpar;temporary and casual&rpar;&comma; or student workers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;