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After a recent hiring freeze, some Syracuse University departments have had to adjust plans to account for the lack of new faculty.  

SU instituted the hiring freeze ahead of the 2020-21 academic year to reduce the financial impact of the pandemic, and it was in place during the spring 2020 hiring period. Once the freeze ended in the fall, the university was able to hire 14 faculty members, said Ramesh Raina, interim vice president for research, in a statement. 

Losses in revenue across the university could have contributed to the implementation of the freeze, some faculty members said. And that freeze, though necessary, has disrupted plans within some departments.

“There’s been a shortfall in revenue,” said Robert Van Gulick, a professor of philosophy. “Enrollment is down somewhat, as some students have chosen not to matriculate or to take a year off, waiting for things to go back to normal. You’re taking less money in and you’re having to spend more money out, so you have to make up that difference.”

With the pandemic disrupting students’ plans this year, the university has been unable to predict how many would enroll and how much revenue it would receive, Van Gulick said. By instituting the freeze, SU could control some of its expenditure, he said.

Despite the extensive revenue losses from the pandemic, SU decided not to use its $1.4 billion endowment fund to offset some of the financial ramifications.

When the pandemic hit, Van Gulick’s department had two vacant assistant professor positions it wanted to fill — one in ethics and one in metaphysics. One of the searches was far enough along that the department was able to approve the hire, he said. But the second position is still vacant. 

“It had gotten to the point where we had clearly identified the candidate we wanted to hire and had requested permission to do so from the administration,” Van Gulick said. “So that position has not been filled, and we still hope that we’ll be able to fill it next year.”

Although the hiring freeze created temporary gaps within the faculty, it was emblematic of the many struggles professors have had to endure since the onset of the pandemic, said Albrecht Diem, an associate professor of history.

“Of course there are many things on hold: conferences, guest lectures, workshops and a lot of research that requires traveling and the use of libraries or archives, but I assume that we will be able to catch up once the restrictions are lifted,” Diem said. “I think that most professors are just focusing on the challenges of teaching online or on campus in the current situation.” 

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SU also froze salaries as part of its hiring freeze. While it is difficult not getting raises amid the pandemic, he understands that the situation is much worse at other universities, Diem said.

The hiring freeze is not unique to SU. Many other colleges and universities also paused hiring during the pandemic and have not restarted, meaning SU is currently in a stronger position than most to continue to hire faculty members, Raina said. 

“Syracuse University restarted searches before many of our peer institutions,” Raina said. “The University is in a strong position to continue to hire and retain highly qualified faculty members.”

Van Gulick said that the hiring process for next year — as far as submitting names for administrative approval — has already begun, although it may take longer than in years past.

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More stories about COVID-19’s financial impact on SU:

• SU receives millions in federal aid after CARES Act fund exhausted
• SU restarts initiative to hire faculty from minority groups
• SU to provide $4.9 million in emergency funds for coronavirus expenses
• SU loses $35 million in revenue, unplanned coronavirus expenses

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Beyond the hiring freeze, departments had to make internal cuts as well, Van Gulick said. Each school and college within the university had to cut its budget by at least 5%, he said. But leaving certain positions vacant helped schools and colleges, such as the College of Arts and Sciences, meet the 5% cut threshold, he said.

According to Raina, the hiring plans that restarted in the fall were part of long-term efforts to increase faculty diversity. Van Gulick said that these prior commitments by the university may prolong the efforts to fill the gaps in the faculty, regardless of good intentions.

“It’s not that the administration wouldn’t like to fill them,” Van Gulick said. “They just have to work with fiscal realities.”

SU restarted an initiative this fall to recruit and retain faculty and staff from underrepresented groups. The university has also instituted a faculty diversification fund to hire faculty members from underrepresented backgrounds. Funding for 69 new faculty hires was approved in 2020, on top of the 53 planned new hires announced in 2018 as a part of the Cluster Hires Initiative. 

Though the hiring freeze was not ideal for faculty members, Van Gulick acknowledged the necessity for such a measure and recognized that nobody could have predicted the extent of COVID-19’s impact.

“In my department, we understood,” Van Gulick said. “It was the right thing to do.” 

Published on March 31, 2021 at 11:10 pm

Contact Richard: rcperrin@syr.edu | @richardperrins2