Pitt freezes all hiring amid funding cutbacks

The University of Pittsburgh has instituted a hiring freeze of all faculty and staff that takes effect immediately. It will remain in place at least for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, the university said.

“In response to a shifting federal landscape and in order to help maintain the University of Pittsburgh’s financial stability, effective immediately, the university is implementing a hiring freeze for faculty and staff positions that will remain in place through at least the end of the current fiscal year,” Pitt spokesman Jared Stonesifer said.

Stonesifer said Pitt is taking other measures to constrain costs.

“The university does not take these actions lightly but, as a leading R1 research institution, we must strategically manage a range of financial pressures, including the evolving research funding landscape, inflationary costs and the need to sustain our commitments to academic and research excellence,” he said.

The freeze on hiring could extend into the 2025-26 fiscal year, depending on an evaluation of Pitt’s financial performance, according to an email from three top Pitt administrators: Provost Joe McCarthy, Chief Financial Officer Dwayne Pinkney and Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for Pitt’s health sciences, which includes the medical and nursing schools.

Pitt said it will release more detailed information regarding the hiring freeze from the university’s planning and implementation team.

“Nothing surprises me coming out of Washington, D.C., but this is certainly a concern for our members and what the uncertainty of the future is,” said Richard Schiavoni, president of the USW Local 1088, which represents roughly 3,600 Pitt faculty members.

Schiavoni said the union’s priority is to look out for its members and the work they do. He said common concerns about the news from faculty include members’ workload, their work-life balance and meeting the needs of students. 

“There’s certainly some concern there,” he said.

Pitt officials said the hiring freeze will allow for exceptions for critical roles that provide direct support to strategic priorities and essential operations.

Along with the hiring freeze, Pitt said schools, regional campuses, executive offices or support unit designated by the university are being asked to reduce non-compensation expenses, including nonessential travel and limiting the purchase of discretionary supplies.

The Trump administration is proposing to cut the funding of indirect costs that support National Institutes of Health research grants to 15% of the grant, rather than Pitt’s current level of 59%.

That cut would result in a loss of an estimated $168 million in reimbursements, the university said. Pitt’s NIH research funding of around $660 million is the sixth-highest in the nation.

A federal judge in Massachusetts last week granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, placing a hold on the cuts. Twenty-two states and organizations representing universities, hospitals and research institutions have filed lawsuits challenging the Trump administration.

Stonesifer said Pitt officials are aware that the past several weeks have caused anxiety and uncertainty for the university, “and we are determined to lean into the University’s mission, principles and values in an effort to chart a path forward.”

“We also continue to work very closely with Pennsylvania’s elected officials to advocate for our University community and ensure we can continue advancing our mission,” he said.

Schiavoni said he is confident in the union and its members to continue to provide the quality of education for its students.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, we want the same thing — the university and faculty union,” he said. “In a situation like this, we always want to see the university succeed.”