Dear Colleagues

I want to begin by thanking so many of you for attending the November Faculty Meeting and participating in the frank and important exchange about FAS finances that dominated that gathering. As we discussed, the global financial crisis has likely resulted in unprecedented losses in our endowment, and as we all saw last week, the market continues to slide downward. Given our heavy reliance on endowment income, these losses will have a major and long-lasting impact - one that will require significant reductions in our annual expenses. I am actively working with the academic deans to plan for reducing our annual expenses starting now and looking to fiscal years 2010 and beyond. Your participation in this evolving process is welcome, and your serious consideration of the draft plans when they appear will be greatly appreciated.

As you all are experiencing, the global economic situation continues to evolve quickly, and I promised to keep you abreast of developments and our efforts through regular communications. This letter presents some of the immediate measures that we are undertaking, answers some of the questions that I have received, and briefly describes how we are moving forward with planning. Our actions at this time are meant to minimize disruptions to the FAS community, preserve the high quality of our teaching and research, and give us time to plan.

Staff Hiring

Beginning immediately, all staff changes and searches are on hold. This applies to all current or proposed postings, including proposals to fill vacant positions, to create new positions, and to increase the FTE status of existing positions (e.g., from a 0.5 FTE to 0.75 FTE). Until stated otherwise, we will open postings only for critical positions.

This new policy means that the goals associated with unfilled positions either will not be pursued or will be pursued by reprioritizing the activities of our current staff. We will all need to resist turning to the use of consultants and temporary staff as substitutes for unfilled positions.

In the coming days, managers of FAS staff will receive a report showing current postings and use of temporary workers and consultants. The academic deans and the FAS Offices of Finance and of Human Resources stand ready to help you find ways to provide essential services without increasing our expenses.

Faculty Searches

Last spring, the academic deans considered requests for authorizations for new faculty searches (for the academic year 2008-2009) with an eye toward authorizing only those that were both urgent and critical to our academic program. At that time, we intended to provide a bridge year that allowed the FAS both to absorb the very large number of new appointments of the past several years and to complete our academic and long-term strategic planning.

Because of the approach we took last spring, I am not putting the few faculty searches we began this fall on hold. However, I ask that the faculty consider canceling any open search if the priority of the search changes or the quality of the applicant pool is not truly extraordinary.

Tenure-track Faculty

Although there are many unknowns as we navigate through today's challenging financial situation, I want to assure you that the FAS is firmly committed to our tenure-track system. Reviews for promotion will continue on schedule and will be based solely on merit (scholarship, teaching, and service).

Timeline

Our financial planning that will take place over the next few weeks and months will focus on developing budgeting guidelines for the various groups within the FAS. It is already clear that because of the structural differences among our various programs, centers, departments, and Schools, the size of recommended cuts will vary. We will not implement a single, one-size-fits-all, overall cut in our annual expenses. At the December Faculty Meeting, I will give you a sense of my thinking about how we can reduce our expenses for FY10 and beyond. In the January meeting, we will continue the discussion in enough detail to bear on the FAS FY10 budget, which is due in March 2009.

Your Input and Ideas

I am pleased with how many ideas for cost-saving measures I have received since the November Faculty Meeting. Please know that I have shared all the suggestions I have received with the academic deans and with my senior staff so that they may all benefit from your advice. To make the process of submitting suggestions easier, I have established a dedicated email address. You are welcome to submit your ideas to priorities@fas.harvard.edu.

To provide even greater faculty input, I will appoint in the next two weeks a Priorities Committee that will complement the work of the academic deans, the Caucus of Chairs, and the Faculty Council. As I mentioned in the November Faculty Meeting, our approach to this financial crisis must be based on a firm understanding of our core mission and highest priorities. The focus of the Priorities Committee is fundamentally different from the work of our historical Resources Committee - a committee that focused on an understanding of the financial resources of the FAS. The Priorities Committee is an ad hoc committee that will be in place through March 2009.

Although some paths we had hoped to follow will not be taken at present, we cannot stand still, or stop the pursuit of our most important academic priorities. In spite of the challenges ahead, we will remain a uniquely vibrant community whose commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and discovery remains unsurpassed.

Sincerely yours,

Michael D. Smith