Positions At Schools On a Freeze

The hiring freeze comes as a result of the state's ongoing budget crisis. The state is predicted to incur about $1.5 billion budget shortfall for the current fiscal year.

The move is intended to prevent hirings to fill all vacant university positions, but it excludes instructional faculty. Also exempted from this mandate are positions in law enforcement, health care and public safety and employees who were offered jobs prior to May 2.

UNC Provost Robert Shelton said the exemption for instructional faculty means there will be little impact on classroom activity. "Our first priority in this situation is to protect instruction," he said. "An overwhelming amount of our budget is used to pay people, particularly in the classroom."

Laurie Charest, associate vice chancellor for human resources at UNC, said much of the responsibilities of unfilled positions will be shouldered by other employees. "We have a number of state-funded positions that need to be filled, but cannot be," she said. "Therefore much of the burden will have to fall upon current employees to get the job done."

The mandate lasts until June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Officials are hopeful that the employee shortage will not create long-term problems. "Since the hiring freeze only last until July 1, we are operating under the assumption that these vacant spots will be filled after that date," Charest said.

Tammy McHale, UNC senior associate dean of finance and planning, offered another perspective. "We are expecting further budget cuts being handed down from the state legislature in the future," McHale said. "But as a University we are hoping that we are given more control and regulation over which departments are affected."

Shelton also said he hopes the state will allow University officials to determine how funds are spent. "The best possible scenario in this position is for the state legislature to give us a numerical value to withhold from spending and to allow us as a University to handle the cuts internally," he said.

Cuts were also made in the area of state-supported travel conducted by the University. All University travel supported by the state is to be canceled or postponed for the duration of the hiring freeze. But all travel that is necessary to carry out general classroom instruction is exempt.

Shelton said University staff has worked to minimize the strain and inconvenience the hiring freeze has created for the University. "I've really been impressed with how the University has come together and prioritized its work to minimize the impact of this hiring freeze."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.