Harvard president Alan Garber will take a voluntary 25% pay cut, as the elite university faces mounting federal funding reductions under President Donald Trump’s administration.

U.S media reported on Thursday, citing the university.

The salary cut is set to take effect at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

Harvard presidents typically earn upward of $1 million annually.

Harvard spokesman Jonathan L. Swain said other Harvard leaders had also volunteered to accept changes to their pay.

The Trump administration has targeted several universities, accusing them of promoting a left-leaning agenda, pressuring them to shut down diversity initiatives and comply with new directives on admissions, campus conduct and hiring practices.

Harvard has refused to adopt many of these measures and has launched legal challenges against the federal government.

As the dispute escalated, multiple federal agencies announced plans to cut an additional 450 million dollars in grants, according to the U.S. government’s task force on combating anti-Semitism, adding to an existing freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year federal funding.

Officials had accused Harvard of failing to respond to incidents of anti-Semitism on campus adequately.

Mr Garber rejected the allegations and said the university had already taken action to address the issue.

He warned that the administration was infringing on the constitutional freedoms of private institutions.

(dpa/NAN)