When Provost John Etchemendy was interviewed last September for a story about Stanford’s budget woes (“Balancing Act,” November/December), he acknowledged that money was tight but said “it is too early to tell” whether a hiring freeze or layoffs might be needed. It didn’t take long to find out.
On October 25, Etchemendy announced to the Faculty Senate that the University would implement an administrative hiring freeze effective immediately. The move comes as Stanford attempts to balance its general fund budget for fiscal year ’04, which begins in September ’03. Offices campuswide have been asked to submit budget plans reflecting cuts of 5 percent, 7.5 percent and 10 percent. Etchemendy, PhD ’82, estimates the general fund budget—which makes up roughly one-quarter of the University’s total budget—will require an 8 percent reduction. In some cases, he told the Senate, “that could well involve layoffs.”
Faculty hiring is not affected.
The freeze is “a cautionary measure” to introduce more restraint in University hiring, according to Etchemendy, who noted that administrative staff grew from 6,700 in 1998 to 7,900 in 2002 to accommodate new programs and expanded operations.
