The University of Maryland, College Park is instituting new guidelines on hiring, including a partial freeze, amid state and federal budget cuts.

In an email to faculty and staff sent last week, university leaders wrote that hiring efforts to fill existing, funded positions will now require additional reviews by senior staff, including the university’s vice president for finance and chief financial officer.

Additionally, the creation of new staff and faculty jobs — including adjunct professors — is “paused until further notice,” according to the email, written by President Darryll Pines, Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice and CFO Greg Oler.

“Our institution is closely tied to the federal government, and there are many unknowns about funding stability across agencies,” the administrators wrote. “Budget projections in Annapolis and the possibility of reduced federal funding require us to take measures that promote cost savings and maximize efficiencies.”

Gov. Wes Moore’s budget proposal to curb the state’s $2.7 billion deficit included $111 million in cuts to the University System of Maryland. That’s on top of a cut of $69 million to the university system that the state government enacted this fiscal year. UMD is the largest university within the state system.

The university could also lose an additional $22 million if the Trump administration’s cuts to National Institutes of Health grants go through.

Universities across the country, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California system have instituted hiring freezes amid federal funding turmoil.

“Given the expected budget impacts at both the state and federal levels, the university will be giving judicious consideration to expenditures in order to minimize disruption to our teaching and research missions,” the email said.

In January, USM Chancellor Jay Perman told state legislators that the system would eliminate 400 jobs, through a mix of layoffs and eliminating vacant positions, to further ease budget concerns. Perman did not specify how many of those would come from the College Park campus.

In last week’s email to faculty and staff, university leaders also wrote that a special committee will now evaluate all new capital, renovation and infrastructure projects to make sure the campus has the funds to pay for them.

The university system is already delaying building maintenance across the state because of the budget cuts. That could, according to Perman, cause issues with “student safety and disruptions to student learning.”

The email from UMD leaders thanked the Maryland General Assembly and Moore for showing “steadfast support” for the university but acknowledged that the funding reductions could cause alarm.

“We care deeply about our dedicated faculty, staff and students, and recognize that financial constraints may cause concern,” the administrators wrote. “The measures that we are taking reflect our commitment to ensuring the financial viability of the university so that the important and impactful work of our faculty, staff and students can continue to move forward.”

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.