The University of Chicago announced a string of budget cuts Thursday, slashing spending by $100 million in an effort to plug its mounting structural deficit.
In emails to faculty, school officials outlined a broad slate of reductions, including cuts to hiring, Ph.D. programs, master’s degree programs and construction projects.
“Our annual income still falls short of our expenses. That is not something that we can allow to persist,” President Paul Alivisatos wrote.
U. of C. has struggled for years to balance its books. The university recorded a $288 million deficit in 2024 — even after dipping into its $10.4 billion endowment.
Unprecedented federal pressures have only exacerbated those financial woes, according to school officials. The university cited cuts to federal research funding, shifting policies on international student enrollment and increased capital costs. Collectively, those changes have exerted “strong downward pressure” on U. of C.’s finances, Alivisatos wrote.
“The path forward rests on a clear-eyed reassessment, anchored in the principles and practices that define this ambitious and distinctive research university,” he said.
The university’s current spending sits at $3.2 billion.
Officials announced changes to master’s degree and Ph.D. programs earlier this month, which include admissions pauses across several schools. But Thursday’s announcement expands on those cost-cutting measures — offering a glimpse at the school’s extraordinary budgetary challenges.
Overall, the number of internally-funded Ph.D. students will be reduced by 30% by the 2030-31 academic year. While faculty hiring in previous years has climbed the past decade, the university said it will reduce the rate by 30%.
Still, the university said it plans to increase student enrollment.
“Our charge is to ensure that we preserve and even strengthen our rigorous and collaborative research and learning cultures,” Alivisatos told faculty.
Administrative units will also see cuts, officials said. More than 300 non-clinical staff members took voluntary early retirement last year, and an estimated 100 to 150 are expected to follow in the fall. The university’s central office and the deans’ offices are working to eliminate administration positions, officials added.
Some departments, including the division of the arts & the humanities and the biological science division, will undergo restructuring to streamline spending. Additionally, the university plans to close some of its 140 centers and institutes, aiming to reduce unrestricted funding by at least 20% in the coming years.
“Many of the changes will pose real challenges for our faculty, students, and staff,” Provost Katherine Baicker said in a separate email to faculty. “None of these decisions was made lightly, and we will all need to work together during some difficult transitions.”
Capital projects will also be affected. The planned Engineering and Science Building will be “substantially scaled down,” Alivisatos said. U. of C. is now adopting a policy to only launch capital projects when 75% of funding is secured.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/28/univeristy-of-chicago-budget-cuts/
