Harvard University is forecasting revenue shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an open letter addressed to staff, students and alumni, Katie Lapp, executive vice president of the Cambridge, Mass.-based university said that Harvard's revenue for the current fiscal year is projected to be $415 million less due to the COVID-19 crisis.
In addition, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the university is "projecting a revenue shortfall of $750 million compared to the original budget plans for the year."
Harvard "is facing significant financial challenges which will require difficult decisions in the coming months," Ms. Lapp wrote, adding that the university "has not been spared the economic consequences of this pandemic."
To mitigate these "significant losses," Ms. Lapp wrote that the university will be implementing such cost-saving measures as "salary freezes for all faculty and exempt staff, a university-wide hiring freeze, deferring or canceling all discretionary spending, a review of all capital projects to determine which ones can be deferred, and voluntary salary reductions for senior leadership."
She added that the school has not ruled out implementing furloughs and layoffs in the future.
Harvard's $40.9 billion endowment is the largest of its kind in the U.S.
