Right now, MIT alumni, friends, students, faculty, and staff are voicing their support for America’s scientific and technological leadership; for affordable, merit-based education; and for advances that increase U.S. health, security, and prosperity.

They are standing up for MIT and its mission to serve the nation and the world.

At MIT, we are contending with a major tax increase on the annual returns from MIT’s endowment as well as other investments and assets. This new tax burden will cost in the range of 10% of our annual central budget, straining the resources we use to support research, innovation, and student scholarships and financial aid—the heart and soul of the Institute.
 
Unfortunately, we face the prospect of further threats to our mission and financial model this fall when Congress considers drastic cuts to the research budgets of federal agencies. And all this comes on the heels of multiple U.S. science agencies capping their reimbursement of research infrastructure and administration expenses well below actual costs.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth and the Institute's senior leadership are actively engaging in Washington, D.C., meeting with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to champion the importance of research, innovation, and education in sustaining American excellence. The Institute has also joined with its peer institutions and mission-aligned associations in filing federal suits in response to the research cuts imposed by national agencies. 
 
At home, academic and administrative departments across campus have reduced their budgets and instituted hiring freezes to navigate this unsettled financial climate, while weathering the negative effects of slowed or stopped projects and admitting fewer graduate students. 
 
The MIT community is working mind and hand to meet the moment, and Institute alumni and friends are an important part of the effort.