Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings made this announcement to the campus community today, Nov. 13:

The national economic downturn and the aftermath of the events of Sept. 11 have sent shock waves throughout our nation and abroad. Economic, political and social forces have been set in motion that will continue to have serious and probably unforeseen consequences for individuals and institutions across America and the world.

As I have said on many occasions in recent weeks, I am extraordinarily proud of the manner in which the Cornell community has responded to the current crises. The mutual support and consideration that have been evidenced by students, faculty and staff alike serve as models for what an academic community stands for.

Our Current Condition

The university's overall position -- academic, programmatic and fiscal -- remains vibrant and poised for further progress. Our entering students at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels are among the best qualified that have ever attended Cornell; our recruitment and retention of top-notch faculty and staff have progressed with major success; our physical infrastructure is being rebuilt and supplemented at an accelerated pace.

We are not unmindful of the external forces that have already affected and will continue to affect our work. For example, the economic slowdown that was already well under way prior to Sept. 11 has had an impact on the size of the university's endowment. The absolute value of the endowment declined 7.8 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30. While some fluctuation in the value of the university's endowment is normal, we had not experienced a drop of this magnitude in almost 20 years. Thanks to the prudent payout policy the university has implemented for many years, there is no need for an immediate reduction in the payout level to participating colleges and programs across the campus. However, the rate of increase in the payout that we previously had good reason to expect will undoubtedly be slowed, and it may not be possible to support an increase in payout in the coming fiscal year. Similarly, the reduced level of economic activity across the country has reduced the level of charitable contributions to the university and may well increase the need for student financial aid. Last, but certainly not least, support from the state of New York for higher education generally, and Cornell in particular, will in all likelihood be adversely affected due to the sudden drop in tax revenues and the necessary redirection of some of those funds to the tasks of public safety, public health and infrastructure redevelopment.

We do not yet know the precise magnitude of the financial consequences that will be felt by the university in the year ahead, but we do know that there will be such consequences. It is, therefore, imperative that we undertake a series of prudent actions now that will enable us to be in the best possible position when the current crisis ultimately passes.

A Universitywide Hiring Freeze

In this context, I am today directing the implementation of a universitywide hiring freeze on all non-student, non-academic staff positions, including exempt, non-exempt, hourly and temporary positions, effective immediately and lasting until at least June 30, 2002. To ensure that the university's academic program is not adversely affected as a result of this action, faculty positions will be exempted from this freeze. The future intellectual leadership of the university is directly dependent on our ability to renew the faculty's ranks with outstanding teachers, researchers and scholars.

Managing the size of the university's workforce during this freeze period will provide some short-term resources and the opportunity to begin positioning our departments for a different financial situation in the years to come. Exemptions to the freeze will undoubtedly have to be made in such areas as public health and safety, but these exemptions will have to be very limited lest we abandon much of the good that can come from this effort. Criteria for applying for such exemptions are set forth below. Recommendations that receive the support of the academic deans and vice presidents will be submitted to a committee that I will chair and that will include Provost Biddy Martin and Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer Harold D. Craft, Jr. Vice President for Human Resources Mary George Opperman will send detailed instructions for both the implementation of the freeze and its accompanying appeals process to the college and administrative units.

Guidelines for Exemptions from the Hiring Freeze

A position may be filled after review if an oral or written offer has been extended at the time the freeze becomes effective.

A position may be filled after review if it is deemed a critical and essential function that cannot be performed with the existing staff resources of the organization during the period of the freeze.

A position may be filled after review if it has been deemed to be critical to protecting the life and safety of the Cornell campus community.

Planning for the Future

While short-term financial savings will result from the freeze, our most important step during this period will be to initiate a comprehensive review of our non-academic staffing requirements across the entire campus. This will not be an easy process, but it is a necessary one if we are to achieve substantial and on-going savings as well as increased efficiencies.

I have appointed a Workforce Planning Team to assist us in the comprehensive review of our administrative and service staffing responsibilities. The team will initially consist of vice presidents Carolyn Ainslie and Inge Reichenbach, Vice Provost Walter Cohen and deans Susan Henry, Philip Lewis and Robert Swieringa. Vice President Ainslie will chair the team, assisted by Paul Streeter as senior project director. I look forward to receiving their analyses and recommendations during the course of the spring semester.