Top University administrators shared an update to Cornell's financial plans for the 2025-26 academic year on Friday, announcing in a statement steps to continue the current hiring freeze, reduce spending and the workforce, and institute a series of weekly town halls. Administrators stressed the need for “urgent action” to maintain the University’s financial wellbeing and “institutional strength.”
The announcement comes as Cornell faces several “fiscal pressures” including more than $1 billion in frozen federal grants, numerous pending lawsuits against the University and its reported settlement talks with the Trump administration that are currently nearing $100 million.
“Urgent action is necessary, both to reduce costs immediately and to correct our course over time — achieving an institutional structure that enables us to balance our budgets over the long term,” the administrators wrote.
The statement also follows the University’s June message about “financial austerity” which first announced the plans to consolidate programs and the workforce.
The statement goes on to explain that the plan will be implemented in “several phases” starting with “immediate budget reductions” that are currently underway across four of Cornell’s campuses. The University’s hiring freeze, instituted in February, is expected to continue indefinitely, according to the administrators.
The next step of the University's plan “requires that we reimagine our university-wide operations” by reducing expenses for all of the University’s colleges and campuses, according to the statement.
“Currently, we are engaged in an institutional analysis of our entire budgetary structure, seeking ways to control expenses by finding new efficiencies and reducing duplication of work,” the statement reads.
The statement describes “centralizing” tasks that are duplicated across different departments while still maintaining necessary components and that “Cornell’s decentralized structure” is “a source of significant administrative inefficiencies” while emphasizing the need to cut down on the University’s workforce.
The University's “planning and analysis” is expected to be completed this fall with “phased implementation” expected to start towards the end of this calendar year and continuing into 2026.
Administrators also wrote that they will continue to update the Cornell community about progress on the plan “through a series of in-person town hall meetings” that are expected to start this week in the University’s Ithaca and other New York State campuses.
“These changes will be difficult for our community but are vital for our future,” the administrators wrote. “We are grateful for the work of every member of our faculty and staff and committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure that Cornell pursues its academic mission sustainably for generations to come.”
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the features editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
