Officials are committed to reinstating merit salary increases for faculty and staff in fiscal year 2027 after they paused the performance-based raises at the beginning of FY2026 citing the University’s growing budget deficit, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes told the Staff Council on Friday.
Fernandes, who joined the meeting to answer questions about GW’s financial status, said officials are monitoring FY2026 finances as the University faces a structural deficit but have made a “firm commitment” that restoring merit increases next fiscal year is a top priority. Fernandes’ comments marked the first time officials have discussed bringing back performance-based raises publicly after halting them and came after officials said in their April announcement canceling the raises that they would “revisit” the decision later in the year after determining fall enrollment revenues.
“We are committed in fiscal 27 to bring back a merit increase,” Fernandes said. “The president is committed to doing that, I’m committed, the provost, [Chief of Staff] Scott [Mory] and I talk about this on a regular basis. There is a commitment to bringing back the merit increase in fiscal 27.”
Staff Councilmembers following officials’ announcement that they would temporarily suspend merit-increases reported strained finances and morale, with some saying they relied on the annual pay bumps to cover the rising costs of necessities, like child care and health care.
Fulmer asked Fernandes whether officials will extend the voluntary temporary salary reductions they announced in July for University leadership beyond December if faculty and staff don’t receive merit salary increases in FY2026. Fernandes said officials plan to discuss and decide within the next week or two whether to extend the reductions.
Fulmer also asked Fernandes to respond to the Staff Council’s April 2024 resolution, which called on officials to separate merit raises from performance management, advocating for a yearly flat salary increase of 3 to 5 percent. She said she felt the merit process was never “truly fair” because inconsistent manager reviews have negatively affected some staff’s pay bumps.
Fernandes said officials are looking into the Staff Council’s proposal, though they would have to assess its potential impact on the University’s budget and structural deficit, as it would require GW to fund a higher merit pool.
“It is something we’re discussing and we’re considering, and we’ll get back to the Staff Council with some of that feedback once we’ve had a chance to really assess what that means to not only the overall budget but the structural deficit,” Fernandes said.
Following a question from Fulmer about the composition of the University’s revenue portfolio, Fernandes said the endowment has “probably” reached over $3 billion, which comes after the GW closed FY2025 with a $2.8 billion endowment. University President Ellen Granberg said in October that GW is working to grow its endowment to get the University to a place where it can meet the full demonstrated need for all residential undergraduate students, a goal of her new strategic framework.
Fernandes said officials are looking to diversify the University’s revenue sources by offering spaces for events or selling real estate, as the University’s reliance on tuition income is the “biggest issue” for GW’s earnings. GW has been financially tuition-dependent for decades, with tuition revenue accounting for roughly 62 percent of GW’s total operating revenue in FY2024, followed by health care operations at 17.7 percent, according to S&P Global’s August 2025 credit rating.
He said officials have launched several working groups of faculty, staff and students charged with identifying potential opportunities to diversify GW’s revenue stream.
“When you think about our overall revenue diversification process, we need to find other places to build some of that diversification because we understand that continuing to rely on tuition is going to be problematic,” Fernandes said.
Fulmer, on behalf of another staff member, also asked Fernandes when officials expect the parties to agree on a resolution to the Medical Faculty Associates.
Fernandes said GW and Universal Health Services hope to reach a resolution on the MFA within the next month or two, adding that the process is “not going as quickly” as officials anticipated because of “concerns in terms of the physicians,” though he did not elaborate further.
Officials announced in October they reached a preliminary agreement with UHS to co-fund the MFA as both parties continued to negotiate a deal to end GW’s financial support for the medical enterprise. In late October, officials announced UHS would establish a new nonprofit physician practice group to directly hire MFA employees if negotiations are successful.
“It’s going to take some time, but I think everybody’s committed to making that happen, and we’re going through that process right now,” Fernandes said.
Fulmer acknowledged the outgoing 2025 Staff Council for their yearlong service at the last meeting of the year and introduced the 2026 Staff Council, including Mindy Galván as president.
“To the incoming 2026 Council, I am confident that you will build upon these efforts and bring your unique vision and energy to this important work,” Fulmer said. “Your roles are vital and to ensuring that staff voices are heard, concerns are addressed and solutions are enacted to improve your workplace and community.”
