While the debate around higher education since Inauguration Day has revolved around endowment taxes, research funding, and the Trump administration’s stance on elite universities, the “Big Beautiful Bill” and upcoming federal budget make changes to Pell Grants, the rules covering student loans, and other support programs that could impact lower- and middle-income students and colleges alike.
Brown is expecting to see a significant decline in federal research funding from agencies including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, said Paxson. There is also a threat of deep cuts to cost reimbursements for research grants, such as money for lab equipment and staff. Other federal policy changes could impact tuition revenue, she wrote in her letter to the Brown community.
“Brown like other institutions is facing the difficult reality of rethinking how we fund our academic and administrative operations, and doing so in ways that preserve the strength of our teaching and research,” wrote Paxson.
Cuts may include reductions in services, pausing spending on some initiatives, monetizing assets, and calling on departments and offices to rethink ways to innovate their operations with a smaller staff.
This year, Brown was already facing a $46 million budget deficit and a hiring freeze, and has had to dip into its $7.2 billion endowment, one of the smallest among Ivy League schools.
Last week, the university took out a $500 million loan, and in April the school borrowed $300 million to face “deep financial challenges.” But recent developments, such as the controversial agreement with the Trump administration that closes three federal investigations into the university, mean that Brown is less likely to rely on debt to support its operations.
The cumulative negative impact of $30 million is “far better than we feared a month ago,” wrote Paxson. The university had been planning for an impact that ranged to more than $100 million, she said.
In addition to other cost-saving measures, Brown will also consolidate health plans to a single health insurance provider, monetize non-strategic real estate holdings around Providence, make small reductions in information technology and facilities renewal, and prioritize fundraising for current-use gifts, which have an immediate positive impact on the University’s budget, wrote Paxson. Some travel, events, and contracts will also be cut.
Brown has had a hiring freeze since March, so nearly 350 positions that were budgeted are currently unfilled.
“Where possible, we are encouraging unit leaders to focus on eliminating these budgeted but currently vacant positions, rather than eliminating filled positions through layoffs,” wrote university officials. “Unfortunately, we anticipate that some layoffs will be necessary.”
Last month, Brown requested bids from developers for the potential redevelopment of multiple university-owned sites in Providence’s College Hill and Jewelry District neighborhoods. In the request, obtained by the Globe, Brown stated it will consider the outright sale of some properties. With other properties, Brown will prefer long-term ground leases, which would allow a developer to construct and own a building while the university retains ownership of the land.
Brown has a 146-acre campus in Providence, and currently owns and operates 242 properties totaling more than 7.2 million square feet. Many of those properties, unless they have commercial tenants inside, are exempt from paying property taxes.
In the request for bids, Brown listed 21 properties it’s open to selling or developing. Some of the properties include historic homes, buildings that currently house student-run media groups (such as the student newspaper The Brown Daily Herald), graduate housing units, the historic John J. Carr building, parking lots, and other buildings.
Over the next five to 10 years, university officials anticipate enrollment in its master’s programs is expected to double, with an anticipated demand for an additional 1,000 beds, according to the university’s requests for bids.
“Brown will evaluate proposed projects from multiple angles, including financial feasibility; proposed architecture; sustainability; opportunities for vibrant placemaking; ability to incorporate transportation modes including pedestrian, bicycle or public transportation,” Brown spokesman Brian Clark told the Globe in an email.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.