Top administrators yesterday ended a two-year hiring freeze that prevented departments from employing new staff without approval from a university vice president, according to a memo from Provost George Davis.

The freeze was originally implemented in late 2001 to help offset a $13.9 million state-mandated budget cut. Though the university has suffered more than $40 million in cuts since the freeze began, the UA now has a good enough grip on the budget crisis that departments can be freer to hire new staff, several administrators said yesterday.

"This sends the message we are moving out of the era of the budget constraints," said Saundra Taylor, senior vice president for campus life.

She called the freeze "very limiting and very cumbersome."

UA lobbyist Greg Fahey, who for two years has asked legislators to minimize cuts, said the hiring freeze has served its purpose. He said the university worked its way through the cuts and that is the reason the freeze was lifted.

"The budget situation has stabilized," and the university can now return to normal management ÷ similar to before the freeze, said Budget Director Dick Roberts.

While the hiring freeze required vice presidential approval for all new hires, now departments have more flexibility.

"If I wanted to hire someone, I needed to get my vice president to approve even starting a recruitment,"said Allison Vaillancourt, assistant vice president for human resources.

"We were worried our budget would be cut," Vaillancourt said. "We were being conservative."

"Now we know where we stand," Vaillancourt said.

"As long as I have money in my budget, I can do the hire," she said.

Vaillancourt said the lift on the freeze will mostly affect staff and appointed personnel positions.

According to Davis' memo, recruiting and hiring of general faculty, including tenure-track and continuing track appointments, lecturers, senior lecturers and multi-year appointments must still go through his office.

However, Vaillaincourt said this is not a new procedure and predated the freeze.