ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings announced today (April 9) that the university has decided to lift the hiring freeze for externally funded positions April 15 and for all other positions June 30.

Rawlings said the decision was made, based on the recommendation of the Workforce Planning Team and in conjunction with Provost Biddy Martin and Harold Craft, vice president for administration and chief financial officer, because the freeze has achieved its three primary objectives.

Implemented in November, the freeze was designed to:

• realize financial savings that could be used to buffer against short-term budget pressures;
• provide the opportunity to begin positioning departments for a more challenging financial situation in the years to come; and
• initiate a comprehensive review of nonacademic staffing requirements across the entire campus, with the goal of making work processes more efficient.

"I believe these objectives have been met," Rawlings said. "Although the analysis is not complete, preliminary data indicate that the freeze has reduced the number of new hires and realized financial savings during this period."

The 245 job openings posted from November 2001 through March 2002 represent a 63 percent reduction from the number of postings during the corresponding period last year, resulting in significant savings, Craft said. At the same time, the number of new positions created since the implementation of the freeze has been reduced by 34 percent compared with last year. An analysis of payroll expenditures also shows that the hiring freeze has resulted in financial savings, although the actual savings amount cannot readily be determined.

"The freeze was intended to be a first step in a longer-term planning process examining nonacademic staffing requirements," Martin said. "We are satisfied with efforts to date and remain firmly committed to the objectives of the ongoing workforce planning review."Those objectives include:

• clearly defining roles, responsibilities, standards of performance and accountabilities within each major administrative area and function throughout the university;
• realizing substantial and ongoing financial savings as well as increased effectiveness and efficiency in support services across campus; and
• improving the competitive market-pay position for staff.

Rawlings said projections for the next three years indicate that a combined deficit for the general purpose and contract college budgets will grow to more than $30 million in fiscal year 2004-05.

"Through revenue enhancement strategies, review of academic and other programs, and workforce planning efforts, I am confident that we will continue to maintain the strong financial health of the institution and balance the budget for years to come," Rawlings said. "These strategies will be critical to financing institutional priorities, such as the faculty and staff compensation programs and investment in academic priorities."

Workforce planning reviews currently are under way in human resources, alumni affairs and development, and financial transaction processing. A separate team has been established to lead each review. These reviews are expected to be completed this spring.

"I expect the workforce planning effort to challenge current operating practices in many ways," Rawlings said. "But it is through these challenges that we will define a vision that will ensure high-quality support services that can be sustained into the future without negatively impacting the resources that can be invested in our core academic mission."

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