Notre Dame announces staff hiring freeze, citing federal cuts
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The University of Notre Dame—the largest employer in St. Joseph County—announced Friday it is instituting a hiring freeze for non-teaching staff due to recent activity from the federal government.
In an email sent to members of the Notre Dame community, the university said it has been following policy changes coming to federal agencies by the order of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. The email cites the cancellation of numerous federal grants and diminished reimbursement for other grants by the National Institutes of Health as factors that led to the hiring freeze.
The message also mentions a bill filed by Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, that, if passed, would increase the excise tax on private university endowments from its current 1.4% to 21%—which is the corporate tax rate.
“The payout from our endowment is a critical part of the University’s annual budget, funding most of our undergraduate financial aid, a significant number of faculty salaries and various research programs,” the email says. “Evan as we and other university leaders engage lawmakers to advocate on the issues that matter to higher education, it is important for us to take steps to mitigate the cumulative impact of these policy changes.”
The university reported its endowment at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year to be approximately $20.1 billion.
The university says the hiring freeze will only affect non-teaching positions and that “critically needed” jobs will be reviewed as needed. The message says the university is also asking departments to cut back, potentially as much as 5% of their budgets.
“Finally, the leaders of each division, college, and school will be asked to proactively model a 5 percent budget reduction in the event the financial impact of government actions should be significantly more dramatic,” the email says. The email is signed by president Rev. Robert Dowd, provost John McGreevy, and executive vice president Shannon Cullinan.
A Notre Dame spokesperson said no university representatives were available for an interview. The spokesperson provided a written statement instead.
“As we seek to understand the executive orders, federal agency directives and other policy changes announced over the past several weeks, our decision-making will continue to be guided by our mission as a global Catholic research university that seeks to be a force for good in the world,” the written statement read. “This is reflected in our commitments to support faculty, staff and students, to advance the teaching and research that lie at the heart of the University, and to ensure that a Notre Dame education is accessible and affordable for students from all backgrounds.”
Notre Dame now joins a growing number of research institutions to announce hiring freezes or spending pauses. Some universities around the country have made cuts to graduate science programs and have rescinded acceptance letters to incoming researchers amid cuts to the NIH.
Notre Dame did not say if it is cutting graduate programs, only that the university is “in communication with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who may be impacted by the reduction in research funding.”