PROVIDENCE – Brown University administrators are taking salary reductions in order to limit the significant financial hit the Ivy League university has sustained so far through the COVID-19 pandemic, a hit that could become worse.
Brown Provost Richard M. Locke wrote in a letter to the community Tuesday that Brown’s financial impact has topped $20 million due to crediting room and board fees to students, moving and instructional expenses and waiving “summer earning expectations” for all current and admitted students, covering this with scholarship aid.
The school feels it is not out of the woods, event with that hit. Locke said losses in revenue and cost increases for Brown could rise to “at least” $50 million “over the next several months, and potentially more.”
To help compensate, both Locke and President Christina H. Paxson will each take a 20% reduction in their salaries and senior administration members have volunteered to take 15% reductions to their annual pay, Locke said. The university also will keep salaries for all faculty and staff at current levels and will not offer increases for the 2021 fiscal year, which begins July 1, Locke said.
“This means that there will be no increases to existing salaries through merit or performance bonuses,” Locke said.
Locke also noted that Brown will “engage in good faith bargaining” with unionized staffers as Brown’s contractual obligations requires salary increases to some employees. The school said it will reserve its right to reach equitable arrangements with the select staff to ensure Brown can achieve this commitment to maintaining level salaries for all of its employees.
“We have remained committed to sustaining our current workforce and to taking steps to avoid layoffs,” Locke said. “We have also offered the option to tenure-track faculty to extend the tenure clock by one year.”
This decision follows Brown’s announcement last month that it was instituting a hiring freeze from now through the next fiscal year.
Brown is suggesting that various purchasing needs and discretionary spending, such as engaging with consultants for nonessential work, should be discontinued or deferred until further notice, Locke said. The university’s Capital Planning Committee, which Locke chairs, is also evaluating current and planned capital projects and will offer Paxson recommendations on which will be slowed and be suspended or postponed based on, “the mission-critical nature of the project and financing structure,” Locke said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
