BALTIMORE — Johns Hopkins University says it expects to lose hundreds of millions of dollars by 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the university's president said in a letter to employees notifying them about sweeping changes and pay cuts to help the school weather the storm.
JHU's President Ron Daniels says the school is projecting to lose $100 million by the end of June and about $375 million during the coming fiscal year ending June 2021.
The expected budget shortfalls have forced the school to make widespread changes, which include top university leaders taking pay cuts, pay freezes for faculty and staff, hiring restrictions and more, Daniels said. He also said furloughs and layoffs are expected.
Daniels said the decline in tuition and research revenue were among the many categories the school has seen impacted by the pandemic.
He also said the biggest loss is missing out on the money that would have come from elective surgeries and procedures, which is expected to be a loss of $100 million by the end of June for the university.
The surgeries and procedures were suspended because of the virus.
“Ever since we decided to end our on-campus instruction for undergraduates, graduate, and professional students; to suspend the lion’s share of our lab-based research program; and to halt elective medical procedures, the university has suffered a dramatic and unprecedented contraction,” Daniels wrote in the letter.
Daniels said the pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges. But in his letter to employees, he provided an optimistic look for the future.
“The magnitude of the challenge we face is unlike any we have experienced in recent memory, but it is one that we can and will overcome,” he said.
Johns Hopkins University’s researchers have been in many ways leading the global response to COVID-19. A university spokesperson told the Associated Press that, “There will be no effect on our pandemic efforts.”
JHU's President Ron Daniels' letter can be read here.
