Harvard Axes Engineering School Staff on ‘Enormous’ Pressure

Harvard University said it would be laying off staff from its engineering school after years of financial challenges and as the federal government cuts funding and raises taxes on some colleges.

“New federal policies, including a forthcoming increase to the endowment tax, and an expected reduction in indirect recovery rates and changes to the allocation of research funding, have signaled the start of a fundamental shift in the relationship between research universities and the federal government,” David Parkes, dean of the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, wrote in a statement on Thursday.