Campus Clips

On June 30, the university imposed a 90-day hiring pause, a 5 percent cut to non-salary expenses in this year’s budget, and a delay of some capital building projects. The belt-tightening is a response to recent actions by the federal government. In July, the federal tax on endowment revenue at certain universities was raised from 1.4 percent to 8 percent, a change that will cost Yale an additional $280 million in the next fiscal year. Further, deep cuts have been proposed to federal research funding, and the courts have yet to determine if the government can slash its reimbursement rate for administrative costs associated with research. 

Yale’s pediatric gender program  told patients in July that it would stop offering medication treatment—such as hormones and puberty blockers—to transgender people under 19 seeking gender-affirming care. A letter cited “federal executive orders and administrative actions.” Many hospitals and clinics across the country have taken similar action, including Hartford-based Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Yale’s program is staffed by physicians from the School of Medicine and run in collaboration with Yale New Haven Hospital.

The Russian government put Yale on its list of undesirable organizations in July, barring the university from activities in Russia. The government said Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs is training leaders of the Russian opposition, citing in particular the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the nonprofit founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Navalny was a Yale World Fellow in 2010, as were foundation officials Leonid Volkov (2018) and Anna Biryukova (2024).

Yale college is adding two new certificate programs for undergraduates. Starting this fall, students who complete five credits from a list of approved courses may earn a certificate in quantum science and engineering. A five-credit certificate in Native American and Indigenous studies will also be offered. The college now offers more than three dozen certificates that signify proficiency in a foreign language, knowledge of an interdisciplinary area of study, or particular skills. 

Schoolteachers from across the Northeast came to campus in July for the inaugural summer session of the Yale and Slavery Teachers Institute. Twenty-nine K–12 teachers were selected for the first program, “Teaching Slavery in New England.” The teachers used Yale and New Haven resources to prepare lesson plans for their students.