Carnegie Mellon president discusses finances ahead of town halls

Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian announced Wednesday that he will hold two town halls next month as he detailed the university’s financial status in a letter to students and faculty.

“These forums will allow me and our leadership team to share more about the university’s short-term plans and long-term strategies, and to answer questions,” the letter from Jahanian said.

The announcement comes just a month after a group of students and faculty formally requested a town hall before a visit from President Donald Trump during The Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit.

In July, the group meet with Jahanian and gave him a letter that asked university to move the summit off campus, remove itself as a host and allow for feedback at a town hall. The summit continued as planned.

Jahanian did not address the Trump visit in Wednesday’s letter. His letter focused on the school’s financial situation and future plans.

“The university is in a strong financial position but existential challenges and continued uncertainty require us to be both prudent with respect to our expenses in the short term and proactive with our strategic actions for the long term,” Jahanian wrote.

Last month, Jahanian temporarily shut down The Fence in response to painted messages by CMU College Democrats, that referenced Trump being found liable in a civil trial of sexual abuse and defamation in 2023. The Fence has served as a student-centered space for free expression and community for more than 100 years.

Wednesday’s letter did not address The Fence controversy.

River Sepinuck, the communications chair for CMU College Democrats, said he does not feel optimistic about CMU administration utilizing the feedback given at the town halls.

Jahanian said he planned to use the rest of the summer to meet with representatives from campus groups, such as student government, to determine possible new regulations for using The Fence in the fall semester.

On July 20, the CMU Student Senate announced in a social media post that student government will be holding two concurrent town halls on Aug. 30, to discuss The Fence and student expression.

Carrie McDonough, an assistant professor of chemistry who helped write the letter opposing the summit, told TribLive in July that it was unclear if the president was going to host a town hall down the road.

McDonough was unable to be reached for immediate comment on Wednesday.

It was unclear on Wednesday whether the Aug. 30 student government meetings will be attended by Jahanian and if they will provide information on new changes to utilizing The Fence.

The town halls are scheduled for Sept. 4 at noon and Sept. 10 at 4 p.m.

‘Significant constraints’

The letter also outlined data points in university’s 2026 budget.

“Our graduate tuition revenue is projected at $365 million — approximately $20 million below initial forecasts, driven primarily by lower-than-expected enrollment at this level,” the letter said.

Jahanian said CMU has already seen signs of a marked decline in new federal research awards and he expects a decline in university research support once Congress finalizes 2025-26 appropriations.

“Based on this analysis and our current fall enrollment projections, we reduced expenses across the university by $33 million for the current academic year,” he wrote.

However, the letter said that overall research support has grown by 24% since 2020 and reached more than $650 million in 2025. In the letter Jahanian said he believes “CMU is well-positioned.”

At the moment, Jahanian said there is no plan for universitywide layoffs.

“This remains a measure of last resort,” the letter said.

This news follows an announcement on Aug. 5 that 18 employees were laid off in the School of Computer Science.

The letter outlined proactive measures including: pausing merit increases, reducing non-essential expenditures, limiting new staff and faculty hiring, and pursuing voluntary retirement programs and targeted staff reductions.

“We have not run a deficit for more than a decade and do not expect to run a deficit this year; however, we are facing significant constraints and unprecedented uncertainty,” Jahanian said in the letter.