Harvard University president takes 25% pay cut amid Trump administration funding freeze

Harvard University President Alan Garber has agreed to voluntarily take a 25% reduction in pay for the 2025-26 school year, amid funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration, amounting to about $2.2 billion.

A Harvard University spokesperson told Fox News about the pay cut, adding that other leaders across the institution are making their own voluntary contributions, given the significant challenges the school faces.

The university announced a hiring pause in March, also asking “schools and administrative units to scrutinize discretionary and non-salary spending, reassess the scope and timing of capital renewal projects, and conduct a rigorous review of any new multi-year commitments,” the spokesperson noted.

Additionally, schools within the central administration at Harvard announced there would be no merit pay increases for faculty and staff for fiscal year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The school also paused non-essential capital projects and spending.

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This is not the first time Garber has taken a voluntary pay reduction. In April 2020, then-Provost Garber took a voluntary 25% pay cut as the school faced financial challenges caused by the pandemic.

The Harvard Crimson reported that past presidents have made up to $1 million annually.

Harvard has become a target of Trump’s broader crackdown on universities, much of which is in response to last year’s anti-Israel unrest that erupted on campuses across the country.

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On April 11, the Trump administration sent a letter to Garber and Harvard Corporation Lead Member Penny Pritzker outlining the institution’s failures and a list of demands from the White House. In the letter, the administration accused Harvard of failing to uphold civil rights laws and to foster an “environment that produces intellectual creativity.”

The Trump administration threatened to pull federal funding if Harvard did not reform governance and leadership as well as its hiring and admissions practices by August of this year. The letter emphasized the need for Harvard to change its international admissions process to avoid admitting students who are “hostile” to American values or support terrorism or antisemitism.

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Harvard refused to comply with the demands, with Garber saying that “no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

The Trump administration then froze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard and is reportedly looking to slash another billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The university later filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its “unlawful” freezing of funds.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.