University of Missouri ystem President Gary D. Forsee has announced a system-wide hiring freeze that contradicts what he said just a few weeks ago.
During a celebration for a billion-dollar fundraising campaign held on the Columbia campus three weeks ago, Forsee made no mention of the hiring freeze, and actually stated he did not feel a hiring freeze would be needed.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, the faculty and staff were made aware that it would.
The sudden change of plans is due to the weakened U.S. and world capital markets.
Forsee, who cited the "global financial crisis" as the reason for the decision, announced the hiring freeze in a letter to university chancellors. He said the hiring freeze would cover all administrative, staff and faculty positions.
Also, all hiring searches have been stopped and no open positions will be filled at this time. All four campuses are affected by the freeze.
Still, some critical positions may be an exception to this new rule.
A report in the St. Louis Beacon newspaper quoted Betsy Rodriguez, the system's vice chancellor for human resources, as having said, "Each chancellor will be allowed to make exceptions, but the exceptions will be fewer.
"The exceptions will vary by campus and will be based on the chancellors making the best use of resources they have," Rodriguez said.
Currently the University of Missouri-Kansas City is searching for a chancellor. UM-KC will continue that search, as well as hire deans for its schools of business and dentistry.
Tuesday the chancellors promised that each campus would have the appropriate number of instructors to offer quality education for this year's enrollments, and they would not allow the hiring freeze to hurt the security of the campuses.
KRCG News asked why the hiring freeze was needed now, especially after the Columbia campus had just raised a billion dollars with a fundraising event and after the school had received a $4.5 million donation from a private donor.
"Most of those dollars are spoken for [and] have particular programs or initiatives that they go for," Rodriguez said. "And we're really looking ahead in the economy. And we're very concerned about where future revenues are [going] to come from."
Rodriguez says she is most uncertain about the campuses in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Rolla.
Future revenues, which come from tuition and state appropriations, are not guaranteed, and there is no way to predict their amounts.
The hiring freeze is not uncommon in today's economic crisis. Schools in other states have also announced similar decisions, some of which were imposed in July.
"You only have to turn on the radio in the morning or pick up any newspaper to read about what is happening to business right now," said Nikki Krawitz, vice president of finance for the university system, as reported in The Olathe News.
"I think it is prudent to be prepared for what no one knows is going to happen. It could affect state budgets, endowments and some students' ability to pay," Krawitz said.
Thomas F. George, chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said the school is focused on maintaining a high-quality level of education during their troubled economic times.
"Like most other colleges and universities across the country, whether public or private, the University of Missouri system, including our campus at St. Louis, is facing major budgetary challenges as a result of the fiscal crisis worldwide," said George.
"The imposed hiring freeze is one step in responsibly addressing a potential budget shortfall for 2010 while we are establishing a careful plan to reduce expenditures and yet maintain and even improve our level of excellence in as a creative fashion as possible."
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