The sour economy has prompted Carnegie Mellon University officials to freeze wages next year and review plans to hire new employees and undertake capital projects.
"The global economy has not improved since early November, and it appears that the downturn will continue for an extended period," wrote CMU President Jared L. Cohon in an e-mail Monday to faculty, staff and students.
"The decline in the stock markets has reduced the size of our endowment, which will have a negative effect on our operating budget for the next several years," Cohon wrote.
The letter outlines a three-pronged contingency plan to contain costs that includes:
• A review of capital projects in development and those under way. Cohon stressed that no decision has been made to delay any specific project.
Over the summer, the university completed renovations to a number of classrooms, dormitories, labs and other buildings with plans to continue such projects, said Teresa Thomas, a spokeswoman for the university.
• A one-year salary freeze will go into effect on July 1. The pay freeze, which affects the university's more than 4,700 employees, will include the university president and other members of the administration, according to the letter.
The university has about 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students.
Employees who are promoted during the freeze or fill a higher-paid position will receive the higher salary, according to Thomas.
"We will review this salary freeze during the next fiscal year, with an eye toward resuming pay increases as soon as it is prudent to do so," Cohon wrote.
Beginning in January, a different process will be used to review new hires. Before an employee is hired in an academic unit, the individual will have to first be approved by the dean and provost. Hires for the university's administrative areas will have to be reviewed by the department head as well as a vice president and the president.
While Cohon characterized the university's economic circumstances as a time to "tighten our belts," he said it was important "to invest strategically, maintaining Carnegie Mellon's momentum."
"I know this is a difficult time for everyone, here and at home, but with these plans in place I am confident we will continue the exceptional and ground-breaking work for which this university has become known," Cohon wrote.
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