Cornell University announced today that it will enact a hiring pause through the end of March. The measure is specifically aimed at temporarily halting the hiring of outside non-faculty staff. A 90-day pause in construction was also announced, meaning a stop to all new projects on either the Ithaca or New York City campus. According to President Skorton, the plan stems from anticipated New York State budget cuts, endowment contractions, and potentially declining donations. He noted that the state funding cuts of $3 million this year could be three times larger next year. The university plans to take the next three to five months to examine its financial and operating efficiencies, but will also raise tuition next year.
See "Cornell Suspends Hiring as Financial Crisis Extends to Schools", Julie Ziegler and Alex Nussbaum, Bloomberg News, October 30, 2008