University of Maryland will cut up to 150 jobs and freeze hiring

The University of Maryland, College Park, will eliminate up to 150 jobs and enact a hiring freeze this year as a result of reduced state funding and uncertainty about federal research funding.

This is the second time in two years that the state’s flagship university has instituted a hiring freeze. Last year, departments and colleges were asked to evaluate their budgets, eliminate vacant positions and restrict travel and equipment purchases. The university also increased tuition and enrollment.

“Unfortunately, the many measures that we have already taken to curb costs and spending are not enough to close the gap,” wrote President Darryll Pines in an email to the campus on Monday.

The number of people who will be laid off depends on how many vacant positions the university can get rid of and how many people plan to retire, the email said. The university already eliminated most vacant positions last year.

University officials told The Banner they did not yet know how many of those positions would be faculty versus staff.

“Our people are the foundation of this university, and the prospect of workforce reductions is difficult,” the message from Pines, Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice and Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Greg Oler states. “We recognize the impact these decisions will have on our community.”

In the last three years, the university has lost about 10%, or $104 million, in state funding. That’s on top of reductions and delays in federal research funding as well as downward pressure on investment earnings and increased utility costs.

The state will provide $871.9 million to the university in annual operating funds out of next year’s $70.8 billion budget. The budget also provides a 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment for “regular” faculty and staff with permanent roles. Contingent or contractual staff, along with graduate assistants, are not included.

The hiring freeze for all staff means no new positions will be created through at least the end of June, the email said. The only exceptions are jobs fully funded by external grants and gifts.

Most capital expenditures will be curtailed, and professional and contractual service procurements will now require CFO approval, university leaders wrote.

Several university programs did receive special investments from the state, including sustainability initiatives and civic engagement projects. The university also received capital funding for building projects, including a Health and Human Sciences complex.

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