Alison Donnelly Named Harvard Kennedy School Chief Financial Officer

Alison W. Donnelly will become the chief financial officer of the Harvard Kennedy School on May 4, tasked with stabilizing HKS’s finances following layoffs and sweeping budget cuts last year.

Executive Dean Joshua G. McIntosh announced the appointment in a March 18 email to faculty and staff.

Donnelly steps into the position at a moment of acute financial uncertainty for HKS. In June 2025, the school laid off staff and reduced spending after federal funding cuts, threats to international student enrollment, and the prospect of a steep increase to Harvard's endowment tax placed severe strain on its budget.

Administrators acknowledged at the time that cost-cutting measures alone would not be sufficient to address the school’s deeper structural financial challenges — a sign that Donnelly will be charged with building a long-term strategic vision for the Kennedy School.

As CFO, Donnelly will oversee HKS’s roughly $280 million operating budget and lead the Office of Financial Services, working closely with financial managers across its 12 research centers and departments. Her role will be central to guiding the school through continued fiscal pressure and rebuilding long-term stability.

She will replace interim CFO Erta Roche, who has served in the role since September 2022. Roche stepped in after Jeita L. Deng Phillips departed the position; Phillips now serves as the dean of administration and finance at Harvard College.

Donnelly brings to the role more than two decades of experience in higher education and financial services. She currently serves as senior associate dean of administration and finance at Northeastern University's Khoury College of Computer Science, where she oversees a broad portfolio that spans finance, operations, research administration, human resources, information technology, events, data analytics, and community engagement. In that role, she manages a team of more than 30 professionals and has led significant initiatives in strategic planning, enrollment modeling, revenue forecasting, and capital space planning.

Prior to Northeastern, Donnelly served as vice president of finance at Berklee College of Music.

Donnelly is not new to Harvard. Before her stint at Berklee, she served in several financial leadership roles at the Harvard Library, and worked in the private sector at Fidelity Investment and American Express.

Donnelly was selected following a formal search process overseen by a committee of senior HKS and University administrators. Members included Rafael M. Carbonell, executive director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government; Neel Chaudhury, executive director of the Bloomberg Center for Cities; Pam Cozza, the Kennedy School's chief human resources officer; Denise D. Gilchrist, director of planning, administration, and finance; and Patricia B. Harrington, managing director of the Office of the President and Provost.

Her appointment comes as Harvard faces broader financial strain. The University reported a $113 million operating deficit in 2025 — its first since 2020 — and imposed hiring pauses and merit-based pay freezes in response to reduced federal funding.

For HKS specifically, the financial picture has been further complicated by uncertainty around federal grants that have historically supported much of the school's policy research, as well as ongoing questions about the long-term trajectory of international student enrollment, a key source of tuition revenue.

McIntosh, in his announcement, expressed optimism that Donnelly’s blend of higher-education finance expertise and private-sector experience positions her well to help chart a path forward.

“I look forward to welcoming Alison to our community,” he wrote.

—Staff writer Sophia E. Alcacer can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at sophiaalcacer.88. Follow her on X at @sophiaalcacer.

—Staff writer Jen L. Phan can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at jenphan.74. Follow her on X at @jenllphan.