For Decades, FAS Published an Annual Financial Report. This Year, It Did Not.

For decades, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences publicly released an annual financial report each fall, offering a detailed snapshot of its revenues, expenses, and long-term fiscal position.

This year, it did not.

The FAS has not published its fiscal year 2025 financial report — typically released in the fall — marking its first break from the practice in nearly two decades. The report, however, was commissioned.

A version obtained by The Crimson shows that FAS brought in $1.78 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2025, an increase of roughly $106 million, or about six percent, from the previous year.

Total expenses, meanwhile, reached $1.79 billion, leaving the school with a $7.7 million deficit — a reversal from a $2.9 million surplus the year prior.

The figures reflect a continued tightening of the school’s financial margins. In fiscal year 2024, FAS reported a $3 million surplus — down from $62 million in fiscal year 2023 and the smallest since 2020.

FAS financial reports have historically provided one of the most detailed public breakdowns of the school’s finances, including revenue sources, spending categories, and endowment distributions.

Though the report was not released publicly, it was shared with some faculty last fall, and several topline figures were discussed at a November FAS faculty meeting.

That meeting also included a detailed breakdown of an anticipated deficit far larger than $7.7 million — including an estimated $98 million increase in costs from a hike in endowment taxes and $262 million more from capital expenditures. Those figures were not included in the report.

The decision to withhold the report comes as administrators weigh layoffs and budget reductions in the face of the estimated $365 million budget deficit. That timing has drawn fierce criticism from some Harvard affiliates, namely the Harvard Union of Technical and Clerical Workers, which represents roughly 5,500 employees.

HUCTW leaders said the absence of the report has made it difficult to assess the FAS’s financial position as discussions over workforce reductions continue.

“It’s very clear that FAS actually had quite a strong year financially in FY2025 but they’ve not put out any financial report,” said Carrie Barbash, a HUCTW organizer.

Barbash pointed to strong fundraising at both the FAS and University level in fiscal year 2025. Harvard’s central fundraising officer brought in $629 million in current-use gifts — a record total and 19 percent increase from the previous year. The FAS, meanwhile, raised $222 million in the second half of the year, $62 million more than during the same period a year earlier.

HUCTW leaders said they were unable to obtain a formal copy of the report through administrative channels. When representatives from the union requested the fiscal year 2025 report, FAS administrators said that no version had been produced “for circulation,” according to the union.

A FAS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The missing report has become a central focus of HUCTW’s recent organizing campaign, which has pushed administrators to release more detailed financial data and reconsider potential job cuts.

In a Thursday email to members, union leaders wrote that “there is no way to verify any of FAS administrators’ vague assertions about the school’s finances” without access to the report and called on Harvard to provide “real transparency so the Harvard community can meaningfully engage in discussions about the University’s true financial future.”

According to the draft report, endowment distributions remained the school’s largest source of revenue, totaling $942.1 million and accounting for more than half of overall income.

Personnel costs continued to make up the largest share of expenses, with $637 million in salaries and wages and about $173.6 million in employee benefits. Other major expenses included nearly $250 million in purchased services and roughly $240 million in operations and maintenance costs.

In recent weeks, HUCTW has circulated a petition calling on administrators to release more detailed financial information and reconsider potential job cuts. The petition has garnered more than 3,600 signatures, according to the union.

“Layoffs, mass layoffs, right now are not necessary,” Barbash said. “We’ve seen no financial indicators that layoffs would be necessary, and there’s been an extreme lack of transparency around finances.”

—Staff writer Taylor M. Bierwerth can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @tmbierwerth.

—Staff writer Noah A. Ferris can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @noahaferris.

—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at amannsm.38. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.