UPenn implements hiring freeze 'immediately and until further notice'
Another elite institution has implemented limitations to its hiring and spending in response to potential changes to federal funding.
Provost John Jackson Jr. and Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli notified the university community about the hiring freeze, which will remain 'immediately and until further notice.'
Another elite institution has implemented limitations to its hiring and spending in response to potential changes to federal funding.
The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that a university-wide email was sent out on Monday by Provost John Jackson Jr. and Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli about the school’s hiring freeze, which will remain “immediately and until further notice.”
The university has reportedly implemented six new financial changes, including faculty hiring only for positions that each UPenn school considers “essential to their missions and their highest critical priorities,” and staff hiring limits “except for critical positions, student workers, and those funded by active grants or restricted sources.”
“The scope and pace of the possible disruptions we face may make them more severe than those of previous challenges, such as the 2008 financial crisis or the COVID pandemic,” the message reads, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The university has also imposed limits on salary adjustments, such as “non-merit salary adjustments and position reclassifications that are not already in process.”
“We continue our advocacy effort both communicating the impact to our elected representatives and working closely with industry associations to underscore the critical role federal funding plays in fulfilling our mission and benefitting society,” the message continues. “While painful, such planning is a prudent safeguard for the future of our exceptional academic community.”
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Last month, Stanford University joined the growing list of institutions to establish new hiring and spending freezes due to possible changes to federal funding. Stanford also decided to implement “prudent steps to limit spending” due to concerns over a tax increase on large university endowments.
Forbes has also reported that Northwestern University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons have also implemented similar measures on hiring and spending adjustments.