University Budget Outlook and Sustaining Our Future
October 9, 2025
Dear Members of the Boston University Community,
We write to share information about the financial outlook and steps our community must take to support Boston University’s long-term strength as we continue to navigate an uncertain environment in higher education, a government shutdown, and myriad internal and external economic pressures.
We want to begin by acknowledging that this time is difficult for us as a community and for many of you individually. Thank you for all you do each day to contribute to this University and our mission. Because of your efforts, we have already improved our finances. We have met our undergraduate enrollment targets, submitted and received research awards, slowed hiring, forgone merit increases, and cut $50 million from our budget this summer. These measures are making a difference. It bears mentioning that we made our budget target for FY2025 due to the hard work of many and the help of $47 million in COVID-related reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As we enter the new fiscal year, we must increase our liquidity—funds that can quickly be deployed to sustain unexpected costs. Despite our strong efforts, we have a $30 million budget shortfall caused by lower-than-expected graduate enrollments and missed revenue targets. Given the government shutdown and uncertainty regarding federal research dollars, we must be prepared to face what might come next in these uncertain times.
Rather than making across-the-board cuts to close this gap, select areas of the University will be asked to strategically identify savings to contribute to the $30 million target by November 14. These reductions may include one-time savings, such as postponing hires, forgoing events and conferences, or avoiding travel. This process will be overseen by University Provost Gloria Waters and Senior Vice President Nicole Tirella. The decisions will be guided by local leaders, ensuring that reductions are aligned with institutional priorities of excellence in research, teaching, and learning.
While the cuts will be targeted, we ask everyone to do their part by forgoing and/or slowing spending. We also ask those beginning budget plans for FY2027 to do so without requests for new funding, and to include strategies for making progress and innovating within existing resources.
Boston University remains financially strong. This institution has benefited from more stability than many other institutions. We have already taken many steps to ensure our long-term sustainability, including an analysis of the budget model, a restructuring of our Advancement office, actions across administrative units, and strategic planning in each of the schools and colleges. These measures are essential but insufficient.
We must consider this moment an inflection point and an imperative to reimagine how our University operates. This year, we will start the process of modernizing our administrative functions, simplifying our processes and procedures, reducing duplications, and identifying additional revenue sources. We will have to change our expectations, participate in trainings, and adopt new ways of working. It will not be easy: change rarely is. But we are a special institution with dedicated people who make hard things possible.
At the same time, we are building an ambitious vision for the future, to innovate and advance the University’s eminence in research, global and local engagement, and its vibrant culture centered on enduring, inclusive values. We must reallocate resources, continue to invest strategically in programs, initiatives, and opportunities that will strengthen our academic profile, attract and support students, and expand our impact on society.
Ultimately, we all can contribute. Each of us can ask ourselves: What can I stop doing? Where can I find efficiencies? How can I better serve the University’s highest priorities? How can I support my colleagues in this time of rapid change? Targeted cuts today and longer-term transformation create capacity to pursue bold opportunities for the future. This dual path—managing costs while investing for growth—is essential in ensuring that Boston University emerges stronger still.
Thank you for your dedication, commitment, and resilience during this extraordinary time.
Sincerely,
Melissa Gilliam
President
Gloria Waters
University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Nicole Tirella
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer
*10/9/25 This message was sent to faculty and staff.