Join us for a budget solutions webcast on September 29

Dear colleagues,

As we wrote in July, MIT and several other universities must now pay an 8% tax on the annual returns on our endowment and other investments – the so-called "endowment tax."

MIT faces significant and recurring new financial burdens from this increase in the endowment tax and further fiscal risks from pending federal proposals to reduce research funding. While we will have to make difficult decisions in response to these pressures, this is also an opportunity to re-examine existing practices and consider fresh approaches. We will need to work together to identify the best answers to ensure a strong and sustainable future for MIT.

Last spring, the Financial Scenarios Working Group, which we co-chair, began discussing potential solutions to these stresses that would sustain MIT’s excellence in research, education, and innovation. Our discussions have been informed by rigorous review of the Institute’s financial model as well as consultation with staff who are deeply knowledgeable about MIT finances and administration.

We are now eager to hear from staff more broadly about the path forward. On Monday, September 29, at 10 a.m., we will host a webcast to update you on the fiscal landscape and seek your feedback on the working group’s emerging priorities and themes. These include:

• Remaining a magnet for top student, faculty, and staff talent, and advancing strategic initiatives aimed at tackling some of the great challenges of our time
• Protecting undergraduate financial aid and graduate student support to keep an MIT education affordable for all
• Achieving savings through an appropriate mix of central strategies and opportunities within department, lab, center, and institute programs
• Raising more budget-relieving gifts, such as those for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, and other core needs, while we strive to make even more effective use of philanthropic resources to support faculty- and student-related costs
• Improving how we use space for administrative, academic, and other functions
• Innovating with educational programs to generate new degree and non-degree tuition revenues

We hope you can join us on September 29. If you are unable to join, please share your thoughts by emailing us at budgetsolutions@mit.edu. We want to hear your ideas for shaping MIT’s future.

Sincerely,

Anantha P. Chandrakasan
Provost

Glen Shor
Executive Vice President and Treasurer