University leaders, including President Carol Folt and Provost Andrew Guzman, discussed the impacts of President Donald Trump’s executive actions as well as recent University budget cuts with faculty leaders at the Academic Senate meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Guzman said it is “overwhelmingly likely” that the University will lose up to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from current or upcoming executive actions. He said that is a reason why USC has complied with previous actions, including an information request on Chinese international students from the House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and an upcoming visit from the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.

Senior Vice President of Human Resources Stacy Giwa said the University responded to the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism’s letter asking what date it would be reviewed and has not heard back.

During her State of the University address, Folt said USC had a 2.1% budget deficit during the 2024 fiscal year and was still in a recovery phase after facing $2.5 billion of legal and COVID-19 costs. 

Guzman said without a financial shock from the federal government, USC’s budget was on pace to return to balance during the 2026 fiscal year, allowing the University to rebuild reserves. With a “lack of reserves” available now, Guzman said responding to the actions is a “wiser” strategy despite there not being a clear financial implication to not responding.

“That shock could be delivered with no notice or with notice, we don’t know,” Guzman said. “That makes it really important for us to respond, and because we don’t have a big reserve behind us, the idea of carrying that loss for six months or 12 months or 18 months, as we adapt, is not a viable plan.”

Folt said USC has complied with previous executive actions because none have asked USC to violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or come into other legal conflict by revealing individual identities. She also said most of the information can be found in public records or is data that the University doesn’t track.

Folt said complying with letters from the federal government has been effective in the past because USC is “always doing the things [it is] supposed to be doing.” 

“I don’t think we’ve done anything that was not legally correct at any moment,” Folt said. “But when the law starts changing, then you need to start figuring out where is that difference.”

Folt said the University’s presence in Washington, D.C., including the creation of the Capital Campus and the formation of the Trojan Caucus — the first university-based caucus in Congress — has been “really important” in handling executive actions. 

Folt also said having contacts in Washington, D.C. allows the University to understand the impacts of some executive actions that are not legally binding yet, informing its response.

“It really does matter that people see us as people [who] are willing to talk to them,” Folt said. “Half the time, if they have misinformation — I have many examples of this — if they just call us, they are actually able to change the action. Or, if there’s misinformation about us out there and we’re able to talk to our legislators, they will advocate for us in the most important places on the Hill.”

Folt said University leaders, including herself and Board of Trustees Chair Suzanne Nora Johnson, have been meeting with important federal officials, including Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, California’s delegates in Congress and the USC alumni who make up the Trojan Caucus.

Senior Vice President of University Relations Samuel Garrison said USC’s presence in Washington, D.C. has been important in informing members of Congress about how policies will impact higher education institutions.

In response to a question about whether cuts to central administration would be considered alongside other cuts like the staff hiring freeze and faculty hiring restrictions implemented March 24, Guzman said USC tried to focus the cuts on administration, which he said is almost three years into a frozen budget, meaning there has been no room for merit increases.

Folt said most of the growth in administration since 2019 came as a result of involvement in lawsuits involving former campus gynecologist George Tyndall and the Varsity Blues admissions scandal. She said before the lawsuits, there was no central administration doing the work of the Office of Civil Rights. 

In response to a question about Trump’s actions combating diversity, equity and inclusion-related programs, Associate General Counsel of Labor and Employment Dawn Kennedy said there is an “explicit carve out” in Trump’s order protecting the academic freedom of faculty members. Guzman said the University does not advise faculty to change their curriculum based on the order.

“You should teach, you should build curriculum and you should teach in the ways that you believe are most valuable for the program and the students,” Guzman said. “All the usual rules should apply.”

While Guzman acknowledged the Academic Senate’s ability to pass resolutions, including those opposing federal actions, he advised the Senate to consider the impact of passing resolutions.

“The Senate — in a way that’s not as true for individuals because it is free to issue resolutions — has a responsibility to think through in a sophisticated way what the implications of such resolutions are,” Guzman said. “Actions generate reactions, and we have to approach these problems thoughtfully and with some nuance.”

Michael Bodie, a senator and an associate professor of practice at the School of Cinematic Arts, said he understood why the University was making cuts but said it still felt “very personal” and “very hurtful.”

“What’s best for the University sometimes is … taking care of your own in as best a way possible, and not just looking at taking the cuts off the back[s] of people who don’t make as much money,” Bodie said.