AMHERST — Concerns over possible cuts in federal financial support to the University of Massachusetts, and tax legislation being considered by Congress, is leading campus officials to call for various belt-tightening measures, including spending reductions of 3% and 5% in all academic and administrative departments.

Stating that UMass is already receiving $29 million less in federal research awards so far in 2025 compared to the same time in 2024, Chancellor Javier Reyes and Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, in a letter sent Wednesday to faculty and staff, advise them to continue to follow the recommended reductions to spending first discussed publicly at a Faculty Senate meeting on May 8.

“Given the rapidly evolving federal landscape and recent plans and actions by the president and Congress, the university’s need for agile and proactive financial planning has become increasingly urgent,” Reyes and Abd-El-Khalick wrote. “Cuts of the magnitude outlined in the president’s budget proposal and the federal tax legislation advancing through Congress will impact every academic and administrative department, including those not directly supported by federal grants.”

The campus leaders noted that UMass receives about $180 million annually in federal research grants and contracts, including reimbursements for facilities and administrative costs, also known as F&A costs. In fiscal year 2024,  UMass took in about $51 million in these indirect F&A reimbursements, with more than $44 million coming from federal sources, that were used for university-wide infrastructure services like digital systems, health and safety, grant administration, libraries, utilities and facility maintenance.

The communication, posted to the university’s federal actions website, notes that President Donald Trump is proposing deep cuts to agencies that support research across campus, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Education, and that rate caps on F&A reimbursements also would reduce money coming to UMass.

The latest letter supplements a March advisory, when Reyes mandated that all non-personnel expenditures over $50,000 would require approval from whoever heads a department, such as a vice chancellor, athletic director or a dean; that all capital project requests would be evaluated based on health and safety requirements and the preservation of core university facilities; and that any faculty and staff hiring would be done only for positions deemed critical to the university’s operations. For requests for critical hires, approval needs to come from vice chancellor or, in the case of faculty hires, the provost.

Reyes and  Abd-El-Khalick also reference other factors, such as possible, though unknown, declines in enrollment of international scholars, caused by restrictions on travel to delays and suspensions in visa appointments.

“While we do not yet know the ultimate effect these actions will have on our international enrollment, we must plan for the possibility that we will see a smaller international population on campus next academic year,” they wrote.

There also are proposed reductions in need-based Pell grants that help one-quarter of students get their education.

“Limiting our capacity to serve all students, regardless of means or identity, undercuts the mission of public higher education. Further, these threats compromise our ability to plan and operate effectively as a global institution in service to a community that has contributed immeasurably to our strength,” they wrote.

UMass has been able to help out researchers affected by federal funding cuts, through the ResCoE Fund that has committed more than $700,000 in salary and research continuity funding to support nearly 50 graduate students, postdoctoral students and staff, though this is not seen as sustainable over the long term.

“We recognize that planning for an uncertain future is difficult, but we are certain that preparing for multiple scenarios will give us the flexibility we need to respond strategically and at every level to whatever federal budget is signed into law,” Reyes and Abd-El-Khalick.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.