From the Office of the Chancellor

I want to take a moment to provide you with an update on WashU’s financial situation and the actions we’ve taken in recent months to ensure that the university is on a sustainable path forward.

Welcome to the 2025-2026 academic year! I hope your summer brought time with family and friends, quiet reflection, deep thinking, exciting adventures, or perhaps just the simple pleasure of slowing down.

As I’ve described previously, proposals to dramatically reduce funding at the National Institutes of Health and efforts to cap indirect cost recovery for federal research remain two serious challenges facing WashU. However, I’m encouraged by recent developments among a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators who are standing in support of NIH and the importance of university-based research.

As we prepare to begin the new academic year in the coming weeks, I want to share an important update regarding our university budget, including a final decision about the FY26 merit increase.

As you are likely aware, major federal legislation (H.R. 1) was signed into law over the holiday weekend. It will be months or maybe even years before we fully understand how the new law will impact higher education broadly. But I want to share with you what we know at this time about the implications for WashU.