UA freezes state-funded hiring, reviews costs

TUCSON - The University of Arizona has initiated an across-the-board hiring freeze as the Tucson school tries to avoid deeper cuts as the economy sours.

University President Robert Shelton ordered the hiring freeze and full reviews of all projects costing more than $50,000 on Friday.

Shelton's order affects open campus positions funded by state taxes or University of Arizona money, including tuition. Open positions paid for through grants, endowments and other non-state money aren't affected by the freeze. That includes the athletics department.

The university has roughly 14,600 full- and part-time employees, including faculty, staff and administrators. As southern Arizona's third-largest employer, the university has an estimated economic impact of more than $2.3 billion annually.

"The severe economic downtown in our country, state and the city of Tucson has consequences radiating throughout our communities," said a memo announcing the freeze sent by Shelton and two other senior administrators. "Our present fiscal environment requires us to be especially diligent in using our state funds for mission-critical purposes."

A hiring freeze for non-critical positions has been in effect since February but allowed some faculty openings to be filled. The latest announcement goes a step further, said Allison Vaillancourt, the university's vice president of human resources.

"We have been on notice for some time that we need to be very prudent in our hiring," Vaillancourt said. "This memo instructs us that there won't be any more."

The move to review new contracts follows a similar edict issued by Gov. Janet Napolitano to state agencies on Wednesday. A state hiring freeze for nonessential workers has been in place for months.

Napolitano's order didn't extend to state universities, but she urged the Board of Regents to adopt a similar policy.

Legislative budget analysts estimate the current $9.9 billion state budget is already short approximately $300 million through the first three months of the fiscal year and that the shortfall for the entire year could total $1 billion. A slumping economy that has led to falling tax revenues is blamed.