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11/09/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/09/2026 04:03

Q&A: Boston University Enters an Era of Transformation to Meet a New Moment in Higher Education

Q&A: Boston University Enters an Era of Transformation to Meet a New Moment in Higher Education

Some of BU's transformational efforts are focused on reconciling a budget in which annual expenses have outpaced revenue.

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Q&A: Boston University Enters an Era of Transformation to Meet a New Moment in Higher Education

BU aims to achieve goals and sustainability amid financial pressures

November 9, 2026
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During her recent address, Boston University President Melissa Gilliam called upon the BU community to work together to transform the University to meet the evolving needs of students and society. Gilliam shared the stories of a variety of students, faculty, and staff involved in efforts already underway. The goal, she said, was to become more agile as an institution, to pursue new ideas, opportunities, and partnerships, while also establishing greater operational excellence and a path to a sustainable future for generations to come.

Some of those transformational efforts are focused on reconciling a budget in which annual expenses outpaced revenue by tens of millions of dollars last fiscal year, says Nicole Tirella, senior vice president for financial affairs, chief financial officer, and treasurer at BU. She and other Boston University leaders say transformational change is essential for Boston University to adapt to new needs and expectations of the future, and to address growing budget shortfalls.

"The challenges we-and other universities across the nation-are facing aren't onetime issues; they require structural, systemic changes," says Chris Sedore, BU's chief transformation officer and vice president for Information Services & Technology. "To meet them, we must adopt a mindset of continuous improvement."

BU Today spoke with Sedore, Tirella, and Manuel Cuevas-Trisán, senior vice president for people, belonging, and culture, about the University's budget outlook and this moment of transformation.

Q&A

With Chris Sedore, Nicole Tirella, and Manuel Cuevas-Trisán

BU Today: Last time we spoke about the budget, in April, BU was on strong financial footing but facing headwinds. Where do things stand now?

Nicole Tirella: That is still largely the case. We have a solid foundation: a strong endowment that has shown positive returns, and liquidity to pay our bills. But the trajectory that we've been talking about-where the growth in our expenses is outpacing the growth in revenues-has arrived.

In fact, this year, we're already seeing revenues come in $42 million below our budgeted expectations, creating a gap between the resources we anticipated having available and the expenses we planned to support. This puts additional pressure on our operating budget and reinforces the need to make thoughtful decisions about spending, while continuing to manage the longer-term financial challenges facing the University.

So, there is an imbalance here that we need to contend with, and we can't address it with onetime fixes, such as broad cuts or pausing merit increases. It's really about changing on a much broader scale.

Our prior cuts were effective in giving us time for thoughtful transformation. The temporary freeze on increases last year was an important stop-gap measure for the University, but not the way we will operate long-term. I am pleased to say that faculty and staff merit increases are included in the budget this year.

BU Today: There is an uneasy tension in hearing that BU has strong footing and a healthy endowment-and hearing about a budget gap. Can you explain?

Tirella: The reality is that both things can be true. The University's endowment and reserves provide long-term financial sustainability and contribute to our overall sound financial footing, but do not fully address operating costs. Most endowment funds are restricted to purposes designated by donors, and our policies appropriately limit spending from the endowment to maintain long-term financial health.

Our balance sheet, including cash reserves and the endowment, cannot sustainably offset ongoing declines in operating margins. An analogy is your checking and savings accounts. Our spending is continuing to grow and outpace our income, which is not sustainable. We can use our savings to cover temporary gaps, but we cannot rely on it as an ongoing solution. That's when you have to take a look at what you're spending and weigh the benefits of your choices.

BU Today: What is creating pressure on our finances?

Chris Sedore: We are feeling many of the external pressures that all of higher education is experiencing. And we are also seeing opportunities to adapt to the market and learn what students are looking for. Last year, we created new master's programs that have been very popular. Yet, other master's programs are seeing low enrollment. Those are areas where we can dig deeper across the institution to understand and think about how we can adapt our offerings to meet the changing needs of our students. Yes, these shifts are affected by national trends, but there are also opportunities for us to rethink our approach.

At a national level, we've seen drastic changes in federal research funding, policies, and loan programs, all of which can change the calculus for prospective students, especially graduate-level and international students. For a tuition-dependent university such as ours, even small changes in enrollment patterns can have a big impact.

So, as our tuition revenues are facing pressures, we're also seeing our personnel expenses-which are our primary expenses-increasing, especially healthcare and insurance premiums. I know universities are all feeling that increase, and it has an impact at BU, too.

On top of all this, we're experiencing higher costs related to technology needs, staying on top of deferred maintenance, and higher operating costs in general. BU has extensive facilities-not just classrooms and offices, but laboratories and other spaces that are expensive to maintain, but critical to what we do as a research university.

All these things create pressure points for us.

BU Today: What is BU's approach to addressing this changing environment?

Tirella: It's clear that the shifts in higher education are not temporary, and the universities that do well will be the ones that adapt. We are in a strong position at BU to be an example for how to lead through these changes, and our foundation allows us to make thoughtful, strategic decisions.

Sedore: And the truth is, we can't cut our way to excellence. We cannot continue to make onetime reductions; we really have to reconsider how we respond to these pressures and transform our University so that we can be more efficient and resilient, and more effective in carrying out our core mission.

So, the kinds of questions we're asking are: Can we make better use of our campuses and our existing facilities? Can we create new graduate program models? We also have technological abilities we haven't yet taken full advantage of.

We have tremendous opportunity in collaborating across the University. Together, for example, we can create modern tools to standardize a variety of operations that make the student experience easier, and avoid duplicating functions across our colleges and units. The way our University grew up over time, we have silos, uneven practices and ways of doing things that are ingrained. That's not unusual in higher education, but we all have the opportunity to look at what we're doing and consider whether we can achieve greater excellence and become more efficient at the same time using the tools available to us in 2026.

At the same time, we have to continue investing in the future, especially in those areas where BU can lead. So, our investments in convergent research and innovation, in our global engagement, in the arts; these are all commitments to a future BU and opportunities to create new partnerships and philanthropic avenues.

Manuel Cuevas-Trisán: Even as we consider these opportunities to work together differently, we are keeping the people of BU at the center of our approach. The difficult actions BU took last year allowed us to absorb compounding financial shocks. But they were bridges, not our destination. Instead, we will be thinking about our workforce holistically and trying to lean into the natural cycle of employment to make shifts to new priorities. Each vacancy can become an opportunity to think about how the work is done and offers a time to explore how to provide new opportunities for our existing employees. This can come in the form of creating more professional mobility across the institution, upskilling and experiential learning, or promotions for those who take on greater responsibility.

This approach will allow us to deploy our talented staff into highest priority areas as external conditions evolve. At the same time, and although I am still fairly new here, I want to acknowledge what this moment has already required of our community. We're navigating uncertainty about the meaning of structural change for higher education. And yet our faculty and staff remain focused and sustain our mission. Through thoughtful investment anchored in our values, we aim to enhance individual and collective adaptability, and to offer a platform for professional growth and the agency to succeed through change.

BU Today: Given these challenges, how are you thinking about the future?

Tirella: I keep saying it, because it's true: BU is in a position to lead through this change. We have a large and engaged alumni base; we do important and innovative research every day on our campuses; we have people who care deeply about this University; and we are developing the next generation of talented, passionate citizens in our classrooms and beyond. We have so many opportunities and untapped potential, and our strategic priorities are designed to realize this potential in a sustainable way.

There is so much we can do together, and despite the challenges we face, I think that's really exciting and energizing.

Sedore: So many people across the University are already engaged in this work to transform BU. A lot of that effort so far is building the scaffolding that will enable us to work better and more strategically together, but I know it's not necessarily work that's easy to see, yet. There are areas, such as communications and advancement, where some activities have been powered down to free resources to invest in new ideas that can better promote the University.
If we do this right, I can see a future where BU is more connected, where we are better positioned to deliver an excellent education and excellent experience for the entire community.

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Boston University published this content on November 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 09, 2026 at 10:03 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]