Tuesday October 2, 2001

Vacant UA positions will go unfilled

Almost no new faculty or staff will be hired between today and Dec. 1, UA President Peter Likins announced yesterday.

The freeze on new hires comes as a result of a $13.8 million cut in state funding to the University of Arizona, which Gov. Jane Dee Hull said could later increase.

"We're dealing with the issues that will cause extreme pain for some individuals," Likins said. "But we will keep this university on course. We will take the hit and walk through it together."

Approximately 425 vacant faculty and staff positions may remain unfilled as a result of the hiring ban, said Allison Vaillancourt, associate director of human resources.

UA employees asking for mid-year salary increases - sometimes granted to prevent UA faculty and staff from leaving for a higher-paying job at other institutions - must go through a longer request process to get them.

The hiring freeze only applies to employees who would have been hired between now and Dec. 1, and who would start working at the UA before July 1, 2002.

Likins and his cabinet said they will make some exceptions to the hiring freeze, which would only apply to those hired or requesting raises during the dates when the ban is in effect.

Employees paid with state funds must be endorsed by the appropriate vice president and Likins before hiring. The same process applies for those paid by state funds who request mid-year raises.

Those paid with research funding, or other funding that does not come from the state, do not need Likins' endorsement, only a vice president's.

The hiring ban "probably won't affect (graduate) teaching assistants and student workers," Likins said. However, he said, it will affect adjunct faculty.

Of the 425 vacant positions at the UA, between 141 and 212 are state-funded positions, Vaillancourt said. Yet, all vacant positions are potentially affected.

Those departments that can hire employees on salaries that are not state-funded may not be able to afford staff to support the new employees.

For example, if a new dean was hired for the Arizona International College, he or she may have no receptionist, or any supporting staff.