By SUSAN JONES
Pitt plans to ease up on some of the hiring freeze restrictions put in place in March, Dwayne Pinkney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, said at the June 11 town hall webinar. He also said the administration has proposed a 2.5% salary pool for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Pinkney said the hiring freeze and accompanying reduction in non-compensation expenses has been successful. “We have been able to delay millions in expenses as a result of those actions,” he said. “And that work is certainly as a result of efforts throughout the responsibility centers, throughout departments and units within the University.”
The hiring freeze went into affect March 10 in response to the uncertainty surrounding federal funding of research grants under the Trump administration and other financial pressures from increased expenses. The March announcement about the freeze said it might be extended after its original end date of June 30, which is fast approaching.
The University now plans to “transition away from a more hard hiring fees, but the discipline and the rigor that we’ve become accustomed to and that we’ve had an opportunity to practice since March is something that we’ll want to keep in place,” Pinkney said.
“This enhanced scrutiny will continue to be important, what I will characterize as a moving from a hard freeze to more of a controlled hiring process, where we continue to be vigilant around expenses and making sure that as we hire for positions that we have exhausted all of our efforts and that we know that we are hiring where the needs exist.”
Additional guidance about hiring will be provided to the heads of the responsibility centers and directors of administration after the Board of Trustees votes on the 2025-26 budget on July 11.
Later in the meeting, Pinkney said the proposed budget his office will present to the trustees includes a 2.5% pay raise pool, but he provided no other details.
Lawmakers are still working on the state budget, and there’s been little news about how those negotiations are going. The deadline for lawmakers to complete the budget is June 30, but they’ve frequently gone past that date. Funding for Pitt has remained the same for the past several years — $151.5 million in general support.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal keeps funding for the state-related universities — Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — at the same level as last year, with the addition of $60 million for Pitt, Penn State and Temple to be distributed based on the recommendations of the Performance-Based Funding Council.
The council made its recommendations in May on what criteria should be used to distribute that money, but the state legislature must approve both the $60 million in performance-based funding and the council’s recommendations.
Pennsylvania has a very closely divided legislature by political party. In the House, Democrats have a one seat majority — 102 to 101. In the Senate, Republicans have a 27 to 23 majority. This close division has frequently led to extended debate on budget bills.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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