YuLin Zhen, Photography Editor

Over 100 Yale professors are calling for the University administration to freeze new administrative hires and commission an independent faculty-led audit to ensure that the University prioritizes academics.

In a letter written to University President Maurie McInnis and Provost Scott Strobel, signatories addressed the “collision of two opposing forces: extraordinary financial strength and runaway bureaucratic expansion.”

The request comes after Yale announced a broad hiring and salary slowdown as it braces for funding cuts from the Trump administration. Letter signees told the News they hope the adoption of their suggestions will place faculty at the center of University governance.

“With the second-largest per-student endowment in the world, Yale can navigate economic uncertainty without compromising its academic essence,” the letter reads. 

Professor Juan de la Mora, a letter’s signee, said that a significant number of Yale professors believe that the institution is using funding for “improper” purposes and neglecting the school’s founding principles of emphasizing faculty and students.

He said that the Yale administration is turning into a bureaucracy lacking intellectual focus and noted that faculty do not have access to information on the administration’s growth and purpose. 

De la Mora noted the increase in the prevalence of letters from faculty to administration to address these changes. In the last two weeks, faculty have written letters calling on the administration to resist Trump’s policies and to defend academic freedom.

De la Mora stated that he believes Yale should be steadfast in focusing solely on educational issues and hopes to address this through a faculty-led audit to regulate hiring and spending.

When asked about the letter, the University spokesperson wrote that McInnis and Strobel met with a small group who supported the faculty-led audit to have a “productive discussion” about the matter and “look forward to continuing the conversation.”

De la Mora believes that with Yale having the second-largest per-student endowment in the world, it can navigate economic and political challenges without neglecting to support academic resources and hiring more administrators than faculty.

Professor of Philosophy Daniel Greco mirrored these sentiments, recognizing the increase in administrative spending in Yale’s budget. 

Greco said these spending habits have faculty “puzzled,” as they hear of the money being spent but do not see a change in their day-to-day work.

Professor of Law Sarath Sanga, author of the letter, wrote to the News that over the last two decades, “faculty hiring has stagnated while administrative ranks have by some estimates more than doubled–outpacing peer institutions.” 

He believes that Yale, given its large endowment, can navigate threats of federal funding cuts and economic uncertainty while still prioritizing the University’s “academic essence.” 

Greco said that without a comprehensive understanding of where Yale’s funds are going, faculty will increasingly resist complacency. 

He also believes that the “elephant in the room” is the Trump administration’s “assault” on higher education and that Yale should become willing to make targeted cuts to ensure the sustainability of programs such as scientific research.

“I think the case for greater transparency about administrative spending does not depend on the present political environment,” Greco said. “I’d support something like this even if we were living in calmer times under President Harris. But given that we’re going to be facing budget cuts, all the more reason to think hard about our priorities.”

Yale has a total of 5,744 faculty members.