WashU is not providing a University-wide merit raise to employees during the 2026 fiscal year (FY26) according to an email sent to employees July 31, a move which Chancellor Andrew Martin described as “disappointing news” to faculty and staff.    

Martin cited Congress’ passage of the endowment excise tax within President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed on July 3, as one of the reasons for the decision, in addition to cost imbalances within academic and administrative departments. 

The University estimates that the tax on endowment funds will cost the school an additional $37 million per year. In addition to the endowment tax, the school also said that there is “significant uncertainty” in regard to federal cuts to scientific research funding.  

In Chancellor Martin’s second annual Q&A with WashU’s Student Union on Sept. 2, he was asked by sophomore treasury representative Jonathan Lewin about the state of University finances. 

He responded that the University has made some changes to increase efficiency, which include not giving out merit raises.    

“Almost everybody at the University, with a handful of exceptions, received a 0% raise for this year,” Martin said. 

Martin added that he anticipates the University will make a profit in FY26.

“I believe that we’ll finish this fiscal year with probably a modest, a very modest surplus, if any,” Martin said. “But we’ll be in a position that our revenues are going to be growing at a faster rate than our expenses, and that’s going to allow us to continue to invest on a going forward basis.” 

In comparison to other universities, Martin said that WashU is doing well. 

“If you look across the sector, many universities are being hammered. I mean, really, really hammered. We’re in a very fortunate situation. … I think that from a grants perspective, we look as good as they do at any other university in the country right now.”

Tonya Edmond is a professor of Social Work and chair of the Faculty Senate Council (FSC) at WashU, an organization of faculty leaders that advocate about faculty issues to the University. Edmond said that she understands that the Chancellor’s decision about raises was not made lightly. She added that in her 25 years at the school, the only time that she remembered merit raises not being given was during the financial crisis of 2008.    

“It can put people in financially challenging situations depending on their individual circumstances,” Edmond said. 

She also said that she appreciated Chancellor Martin’s transparency with the FSC and the greater community about University finances. Edmond commended work done by WashU to mitigate the size of the endowment tax, which involved demonstrating University’s positive impact on not only its students, but also the broader St. Louis region.    

“[WashU] has worked really hard to be in collaborative dialogue and communication with decision makers,” Edmund said. 

 Chancellor Martin stated in the message that the University still anticipates breaking even during FY25, which ran from June 31, 2024, to July 1, 2025.